THE TEST OF THEIR LIVES
by maydn-peony
Summary: It is a year after the chuunin exam and they are still Genins. They will take the test again but this time they meet unexpected danger and a person comes back into Sasuke's life... SakuraItachi and ShikamaruHinata, Naruto loves...?
1. Chapter 1

  
  
---Chapter 1---  
  
"Where _is_ Kakashi sensei??"groaned Sakura, "and why is he ALWAYS late?!?" She was leaning on the railing of a bridge with Sasuke on her right. "Yeah!" Naruto agreed, "Stupid sensei, teaching us not to be late and arriving like 2 hours later himself!!!!"  
  
Naruto fell silent and paced around and around, deep in thought. He turned his back towards Sakura and Sasuke when he said slowly,"Maybe we should..."he stopped. Sasuke and Sukura both looked at him. Naruto turned around slowly and dramatically, "Maybe we should..." he repeated, "follow him.."  
  
Sasuke snorted and turned his face away from Naruto. Sakura who was just about to say what a great idea it was, stopped. " Naruto, you idiot!! How are we suppose to do that??" she said instead.  
  
"Well, we could wait outside of his house tomorrow morning and follows him when he leaves the house."  
  
Just then a voice said,"Who are you going to stalk, Naruto?" Naruto, who hadn't felt Kakashi's presence, yelled in fright and fell into the running stream below the bridge.  
  
"Hmmmm...am I that scary?" wondered Kakashi. "So Naruto? You havn't answered my question..."  
  
"Ehhhh...umm...heh heh... no one..."replied Naruto innocently. He was dripping wet and shivered in his clothes.  
  
"Ohh well... it better not be me though..."  
  
"Nonononoo.. anyone but you, Kakashi sensei.." laughed Sakura nervously. "So what's our job today?"she said, changing the subject.  
  
"I'm glad you asked Sakura. I have a special task for you today."Kakashi replied.  
  
"What? What?"asked Naruto, who got all excited and completely forget about his wet clothes. "are we gonna kick some bad guys' ass?"  
  
"Well, this task requires teamwork more than ever because you'll be working with some people from team 8 and team 10. Team 8 consists of Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba. Team 10 has Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Choji."  
  
"Wait a second...", interupted Naruto. "why do you have to work with them?"  
  
"Hang on, I'm going to get to that in a second. Anyway, you nine genins will have to go to a secluded area, like the Chunnin exam, and the Hokage will set a task for you guys to do, and if you're wondering why, it's because the Chunnin Exam was...err...cut short, and the Hokage believes that you guys all have the potential to rise to Chunnin level. That's why she's giving you this extra opportunity." explained Kakashi. When Sakura opened her mouth to say something Kakashi interupted, "The people who did not make it to the finals will still get to compete."  
  
'Ha! I can show Ino just how much stronger I've become since the preliminary match.' thought Sakura happily.  
  
"So, so when does it happen??" asked Naruto. He was so excited he was hopping on one foot to another.  
  
"Tomorrow."  
  
"Heheheheh. Now I can show everyone the power of the future Hokage!"  
  
"Well, today you can have the day off to do whatever you want, since the test is tomorrow."smiled Kakashi. Sasuke who hadn't said a word since Kakashi arrive, spoke up at last.  
  
"What do we have to do in this test? Didn't you say we had to work with the other team?"  
  
Kakashi only smiled his mysterious smile and said,"you'll find out tomorrow." Then he vanished. Where he was a second before were three pieces of paper. Sakura picked them up and read them.  
  
"They're application forms" she said, handing one to Naruto and Sasuke. "It says we're to meet in front of the academy at 9 o'clock tomorrow."  
  
"Thaaannnkk youuuu, Sakura-chan!" said Naruto accepting the piece of paper. "I'm off to train now! Bye!" He ran off to the pratice area, holding the form above his head.  
  
When Sakura saw Naruto disappearing round the bend of the road she said, nervously,"I uh..was wondering Sasuke-kun..if we could...ummm...train together today?" There was no answer. Saukra turned around. Sasuke had left.  
  
Sakura - .# (I use these lil symbols to show anime emotions because there are no pictures.)  
  
---------- At the same time... -  
Kurenai, who was in Charge of team 8 was explaining the same thing to her team.  
  
"I'll get to see Naruto-kun!" thought Hinata happily.  
  
"Hehehe. We'll show them what we're made of eh, Akamaru?" boasted Kiba. "This time I won't lose to Naruto!" Akamaru, barked in agreement.  
  
Shino didn't say anything. He was just remembering the Chunnin Exam, a year ago.  
Asuma, the sensei of Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, was handing out the application forms. "I want all three of you to try your best, got it?" he said.  
  
"I'll prove to Sakura that I'm better AND Sasuke-kun might notice my sexiness and ability has a ninja!!!"thought Ino cheekly.  
  
Shikamaru looked at Ino's happy faces. He sighed. "this is so troublesome..."  
  
"But sensei, Choji is injured," remembered Ino, "He broke his neck while practising his jutsu a couple of days ago."  
  
"Yes well, then there will only be 8 gennins, this year."replied Asuma.  
  
---------- The next day ----------  
  
Beep beep- beep- beep- beep beep- Naruto's alarm clock went...beep beep- beep- beep- beep beep. About half an hour later Naruto fell out of bed. "owww" he moaned.  
  
"What time is it?" He looked at his alarm clock.9:15.  
  
"9:15!?!?!?" he shouted jumping out of his tangle of blankets on the floor. Within minutes he was dressed and ready to go, when he spotted some left over ramen from the night before he stopped and looked at the ramen cup. He turned and looked at the door. Then at the clock. Then back to the ramen.  
  
"Uhhhh stuff the time... they'll wait for me.." he decided and walked over to the ramen.  
  
"Itadakimasu!!"  
  
5 minutes later Naruto was out the door, his belly satisfied. It was now already 9:28 and Naruto ran through the streets of people.  
  
"Excuse me! Coming through...excuse me..."he yelled as he weaved through the people.  
  
9:39 In front of the academy...  
  
"Where is that Naruto??"exclaimed Sakura, "He's just as bad as Kakashi sensei."  
  
For indeed Kakashi was late, as usual. A second later, he appeared next to Sakura. "Hi there Sakura! Everyone here and ready to go?"he asked cheerfully.  
  
Asuma laughed and said, "Kakashi, one of your students is even later than you, by the looks of things."  
  
"Huh?"Kakashi said blankly and looked around. He saw Sakura and spotted Sasuke leaning on a wall."Naruto?"  
  
"Don't tell me we have to wait for that little brat." Ino complained.  
  
"Jeezzzee, how troublesome..."  
  
"Well I'm sure Naruto wouldn't miss this for anything, so something really important must have come up." Suggested Kakashi with a shrug, " I guess we'll wait..."  
  
Four minutes later...  
  
"Woof woof!" Akamaru barked. Everyone looked at Kiba for a translation. Kiba merely shrugged and said, "Naruto's coming and he smells like ramen." Sure enough, a second later Naruto came running up to them.  
  
"Nar- Naruto-kun, I'm glad you made it!", whispered Hinata shyly. Naruto who hadn't heard what she said was about to tell her so but Sakura grabbed Naruto by the collar.  
  
"JUST WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? JUST YESTERDAY YOU WERE PISSED OFF BY KAKASHI-SENSEI'S LATENESS! AND NOW...GUESS WHO'S LATE?"  
  
"Hehehe.."chuckled Naruto nervously "heh heh"  
  
"WELL WHAT'S YOUR REASON???" demanded Sakura.  
  
"I uhhh over-slept and then i saw... i saw..."  
  
"Huh? What did you see?" Sakura now asked curious.  
  
"I saw some ramen on the table and decided to finish it or the ants and cockaroaches would get to them. hehehe"  
  
WHACK P  
  
"So much for a good reason ehh, Kakashi?"grinned Kurenai. Kakashi scratched the back of his head and laughed.  
  
"Ehh heh.. yeah..."  
  
Holding his hurting head that had just whacked by Sakura he looked around. "Hey, I'm not the only one late. Where's Choji?"  
  
It was Ino that replied,"He was injured during training a couple days ago." she explained.  
  
"But couldn't Granny Tsunade heal him?"he asked.  
  
"I did heal him, Naruto but he needs rest. You sould know that."answered the fifth Hokage, Tsunade, who was a medical specialist.  
  
"Ohhhh..."  
  
"So now that everyone is here..."began the Hokage. Everyone turned their attention her way. "I will show you where the test is situated. Follow me." She lead them to the rocky outskirts of Konoha and pointed to two tunnels in the cliffs.  
  
"This is the entrance to the test." Then she held out a box and continued speaking. "Everyone will choose a piece of paper in the box, and their teams will be decided."she explained.  
  
Once everyone took a piece of paper, Tsunade spoke again. "Team one, go to the left entrance, team two to the other."  
  
TEAM ONE  
  
Naruto

Hinata

Shikamaru

Shino  
  
TEAM TWO

Ino

Sakura

Sasuke

Kiba  
  
"Now let me warn you," the Hokage said once everyone was in place, "In this task some of you may die- "  
  
gaSPP o.O  
  
"But that will only happen if you don't work as a team. Now the point of this task is to make it out to the other exit of the tunnels and it won't be easy either. I won't tell you what's in store but I warn you, if you don't make it out of there by Friday, you will never become a Chunnin!"  
  
"WHAT!?!?!?!"shouted Naruto, outraged."That's really harsh Granny Tsunade.. Why??"  
  
"Because" Tsunade explained calmly, "Those people who fail to get out..will be forever wandering in the darkness of the caves."  
  
Sakura shuddered.What a horrible way to die, she thought, but on a happier note, Sasuke's in my team, so we can't fail! But then...there's Ino...she'll probably want to hog Sasuke... I won't let her!  
  
"Ready everyone?"Said the Hokage, "On the count of three...one, two, three- GO!"  
  
Both teams ran into the darkness of the caves, unaware of what would happen to them in the three days.


	2. chapter 2

** - i don't own Naruto...ok... and to those people who read this..PLZ pLZ pLZ rite reviews...thanx.. hope you like mai story so far..**

****

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**--- Chapter 2 ---**

"Wait, wait,"panted Shikamaru. Team one was running along the tunnels as fast as they could, until Shikamaru stopped them. He had just remembered the Hokage's heedings.  
  
"What is it, Shikamaru?"asked Shino  
  
"Don't tell me your tired, already, we've only been running for ten minutes."exclaimed Naruto.  
  
"I'm not tired but don't you remember what the warnings were?"Shikamaru asked his fellow teammates.  
  
"Uhhhhhhhhh, there were warnings?"said Naruto, confused.  
  
(the 's mean the start and the end of a flashback)  
"Now let me warn you, in this task some of you may die! I won't tell you what's in store but I warn you..."  
  
"Yeah, that we might die..."answered Hinata softly.  
"Uh huh, if we don't work as a team." added Shino.  
"Exactly, and if we are just suppose to get out of this cave, we don't need three days." explained Shikamaru. He then looked at Naruto, who's brows were furrowed and looking very confused. Shikamaru sighed, "It's troublesome to explain something really obvious to a dumb guy."  
  
"Who's dumb?" asked Naruto, "I was just thinking of a plan..."  
  
"Huhh..."muttered Shino.  
  
"What Shikamaru's saying is that it isn't going to be as easy as it sounds because we have a whole three days to get out of a tunnel. There might be traps and hidden enemies within the area." explained Hinata calmly.  
  
"Well if there are enemies, I, NARUTO, THE FUTURE HOKAGE WILL DEFEAT THEM ALL!!" exclaimed Naruto, loudly with one fist in the air. Shikamaru and Shino both tackled Naruto to the ground, trying to shut him up. Naruto struggled to no avail.  
  
"Shut UP, you idiot!!!" whispered Shikamaru, angrily, looking cautiously to the left and the right of the tunnel, while Shino covered Naruto's mouth with his hand. Only when Naruto finally stopped struggling and fell silent did Shino let go. Naruto sat up, rubbing his head.  
  
"That hurt!"he complained.  
  
"Well, keep your mouth shut next time."said Shino,"You probably alerted all the enemies within the area. Idiot."  
  
"Let's make a plan-"suggested Shikamaru before Naruto interupted.  
  
"Hey!!! Why do we have to listen to that guy! He's no one special!"  
  
"Be quiet, Naruto!" said Shino,"We have to listen to Shikamaru because he's the one with all the good plans. Don't you remember the finals of the Chunnin exam, where he thought of an idea to defeat that ninja. What was her name again? Temari, that's it."  
  
"But he gave up in the end..."protested Naruto.  
  
"That's not the point. The point is that Shikamaru can think of a good plan in a bad situation." explained Shino. I feel like I'm trying to make a three-year old trying to understand something, he thought to himself.  
  
"Thanks, Shino."smiled Shikamaru."Now for the plan. Hinata will use her Byakugan to see if there are any one ahead of us. She will lead the group. Then a few metres after, Naruto and I will follow. Lastly Shino will follow, a couple of steps behind."  
  
"I- I'm leading, the group?" asked Hinata, now a little afraid.  
"I'm sorry I have to put you at the front Hinata," said Shikamaru, appologizing,"but you can see more than any of us, in this dratted place with your jutsu."  
  
"That's slack, Shikamaru!"said Naruto angrily, seeing Hinata's frightened face. "You know she's frightened, yet you still put her at the front??" Hearing this Hinata had to smile. Naruto cares for me! she thought with glee, I won't let him down. I won't let my team down! "That's ok, Naruto-kun,"she said confidently now, "We have to work as a team if we want to get out of here and pass the exam." She smiled at him. Naruto smiled back.  
  
"OK,Hinata!"  
  
"Shino, you can leave some bugs behind can't you?"asked Shikamaru.  
  
"Yes. You want me to leave bugs behind so we know where we're going, right?"guessed Shino.  
  
"Yeah, and if an enemy is coming from behind the bug can cling onto the person so we know that they're coming and get ready."  
  
"Huh? How does that work?"asked Naruto, who was trying very hard to keep up with the plan.  
  
Shino sighed inwardly then said, "If I put a female bug on the enemy, the male bugs will sense them getting closer. But if the female bugs stay where they were left, we would know that no one is sneaking up on us." Naruto's eyes opened in surprise as he caught on.  
  
"Hehehehe, I get it now!" .  
  
Shikamaru looked at his teammates. "So, is everyone ready?"he asked, "we shouldn't be wasting anymore time." Everyone nodded. "Hinata?"  
  
"ok."nodded Hinata, and put her hands together, forming seals. "Byakugan!"she cried. She started off at a run. Shikamaru and Naruto were close behind her. Shino was last. His hands were covered with bugs. Every few metres he would leave a bug crawling on the ground.  
  
------- Meanwhile ------  
  
Sasuke was walking close behind Kiba. Kiba had his nose up in the air, sniffing every so often. Behind Sasuke and Kiba, Sakura and Ino where giving each other glares. When Sakura tried to walk up to Sasuke, Ino would step in front of her, blocking her way. When Ino tried to walk ahead, Sakura did the same thing.  
  
"Stop it, Ino-pig!"growled Sakura under her breath.  
  
"Well, don't try to hog him, forehead girl!"retorted Ino. Sakura flushed red and touched her forehead. Sure it is bigger than everyone else's but I was the smartest girl when we were still at the academy, she thought.  
  
"I wasn't going to!"  
"Were too!"  
  
"Were not!"  
  
Before anyone could say anything Kiba broke in, "There's something strange smelling ahead! It's coming towards us!"  
  
"What is it?"asked Sasuke, with a gleam in his eyes.  
  
"I can't tell, but it's really big and fast!"  
  
"What shall we do Sasuke-kun?"asked Sakura, nervous and forgeting about the arguement with Ino just before.  
  
"We have to fight it because there's no where to run!"he answered looking at the path they came from. "Get ready!"  
  
Suddenly Akamaru growled and jumped out of Kiba's jacket. Obviously it was going to fight with them. Kiba, Sasuke, Sakura and Ino lined up facing the direction of the the enemy.  
  
"Are you sure there's someone there, Kiba? I can't see or hear a thing!"protested Ino. But before Kiba could say anything a slithering noise was heard.  
  
Kiba gulped. "Ino... I don' think it's someone...it's something!"  
  
"It's coming!"whispered Sasuke, as he moved into a stance. The noise became louder and louder as it came closer. Sakura could feel her heart beating in her chest like a drum. She wiped her sweaty hands on her thighs and gripped her kunai tighter.  
  
SsSsssSSS  
SSSsssSSSSSSSssS  
  
As suddenly as it started, the sound stopped. "Has it gone?"whispered Sakura. She felt something cold behind her. She spun around.  
  
------Team one------  
  
Shikamaru, Shino and Naruto had been following the lead of Hinata for a while. Suddenly Hinata stopped and bent over, gasping for air. Her Byakugan was gone and she slumped to the floor of the caves. Naruto stopped immediatly and crouched next to her.  
  
"Are you alright, Hinata?"he asked, his eyes worried. Hinata looked up into them and smiled. "I'm alright, Naruto-kun."she said. Cough Cough "I just need a rest thats all. Running and using Byakugan tires me." Cough cough  
Shikamaru pushed Naruto away from Hinata and smiled at her. "Well you have a rest, I'll set up some traps so we will be warned if anything comes near us." Hinata nodded. Cough cough  
  
"Shino, look after Hinata, while Naruto and I set up the traps."he ordered. Shino nodded and took out a flask of water for Hinata. Shikamaru dragged Naruto away from Hinata.  
  
"Hey, hey, why did you do that for?"complained Naruto to Shikamaru, "I could have taken care of Hinata!"  
  
Shikamaru stopped and eyed Naruto but didn't say anything. Finally he said bluntly.  
  
"Shino is stronger than you, if the enemy comes from the other side and attacks, while we're over here, Shino can fend them off until we come to help. You can't."  
  
"Whatever."muttered Naruto, as he bent down to help with the traps. When they had finished putting traps on both sides of the tunnel, they went back to their resting place. Hinata was already looking much better. They all sat down and took a gulp of water from the flask. No one said a word until Shikamaru spoke up.  
  
"How strange."he mumbled.  
  
"What is?" asked Naruto quickly. Shikamaru, who was looking at his knees, glanced up.  
  
"This is too easy."  
  
"Hahahaha"laughed Naruto, "Maybe Granny Tsunade underestimated us!"  
  
"Even if she did, we would have at least met some trouble. It's already 2 hours into the exam, yet...nothing." Right on cue there was suddenly a bone chilling scream.

** - hahahah...i wonder whats gonna happen nxt?? lol**


	3. Chapter 3

**-I just have to say, ANYone who reads this.. PLEASe rite a review... even just to say how much it sux...ThnX . i REALLy 'preciate it.. -**

--- Chapter 3 ---  
  
"That- that sounded like Sakura!!"stuttered Naruto. Shino looked towards the right side of the cave wall, where the sound was coming from.  
  
"It's coming from in there!"he said, "they must be in the other tunnel somewhere behind this rock."  
  
"What happened to them?"asked Hinata, her eyes wide, with her both her hands clasped in front of her chest.  
  
"I dunno, but we have to save them!!!"cried Naruto running along the tunnel, as fast as he could.  
  
"Wait, Naruto, wait, it might be dangerous."called Shikamaru, but he didn't chase after Naruto.  
  
"Why don't you go after him, Shikamaru?" wondered Hinata, squinting through the darkness.  
  
"Just wait... I'll bet he forgot about them..."grinned Shikamaru.  
  
"Wait? Wait for what?"Hinata wanted to know. Right on cue, there was a resounding ' thumP'  
"There." answered Shikamaru, with a huge grin on his face. He walked towards the noise. Shino and Hinata followed wearily. Naruto came into view, he was lying on the ground and groaning. He was using his arms to try and push himself up.  
  
"Naruto-kun? Are you ok?"said Hinata, who was trying to keep her face straight. She helped Naruto up. Shino and Naruto were laughing. Naruto looked angry. He was trying to brush the dirt from his clothes.  
  
"Who the HECK put the trap there!!" he asked angrily, pointing to the thin string of wire, a few inches away from him. Shikamaru and Shino only laughed harder. Hinata was grinning now. Naruto looked from one person to another, getting angrier still.  
  
"Well? Who was it??"  
  
"You!" Shikamaru gasped, finally managing to stop laughing.  
  
"Wha..? Me?"asked Naruto, now confused, "Why would I want to trip myself?"  
  
"You set that trap up when we stopped to rest."  
  
"Ohhhh..." Naruto turned red, then remembering the scream he cried, "Sakura!" He was attempting to run off again but this time Shino grabbed him by the shoulder. "Let go! I have to save Sakura!"he yelled struggled.  
  
"There's no point!"said Shikamaru, impatiently.  
"Just because your heartless, doesn't mean I am!" protested Naruto, struggling out of Shino's grip.  
  
"Naruto, listen to me!" said Shikamaru firmly, "The two tunnels may be next to each other, but they aren't joined together! You can't get to Sakura!" Naruto stopped and turned around to face him.  
  
"It's not? How would you know?"  
  
"Because my team had a mission that had to do with these tunnels. When we got here, we didn't know which tunnel we were suppose to enter. We split up and decided to see if there were any paths that intersected them in the middle. There wasn't." explained Shikamaru, grimly. Realization dawned on Naruto, then he yelled-  
  
"WELL I'LL MAKE A PATH, THEN! RASENGAN!" Shikamaru's eyes opened in fright. He leaped in and grabbed Naruto by the wrist.  
  
"You IDIOT! Don't you know what could happen if you did that?"he growled, keeping a wary eye on Naruto's palm, where blue chakra was building up, "The cave could collapse in on us, maybe even on the other team. And you could cause an avalanche on Konoha!" The blue fire that was gathering, slowly died out.  
  
"But- Sakura-chan is in trouble! We have save her!"cried Naruto, desperately.  
  
"Don't you think that Sasuke will do that?"demanded Shikamaru as he let go of Naruto, "Do you really believe he will do nothing to save her?" Naruto opened his mouth to protest but then close it again. Yes, Shikamaru is right, he thought to himself. He walked over to the side of the cave and put his hands on the rocky wall. I'm counting on you...Sasuke. Naruto looked up. Hinata was looking concerned. He smiled at her, reassuring her that he was fine.  
  
"Let's go! Hinata?" She nodded and started heading off. Naruto and Shikamaru sped along with Shino at the rear.  
  
------ Meanwhile ------  
  
Sakura turned around and screamed. She stumbled back a few steps. Sasuke whipped around, and pointed his kunai at the enemy. His mouth opened in shock. There, standing not 2 metres away from him was the most eerie thing he had ever seen. It was like a huge pile black goo, which in a way resembled jell-o that had no difinte shape or size. It had bloodshot red eyes that seemed to stare at everyone.  
  
Sasuke could see how the thing managed to sneak behind them so noiselessly. It slithered towards them noisily and then flattened itself so it bacame part of the shadows that covered the caves and snuck behind them.  
  
Huh, thought Sasuke, let's just see how powerfull this thing is! He jumped up into the air and struck the blob with his kunai right between the eyes. He tried to pull the dagger out but it was stuck fast. Sasuke let go of his kunai and jumped to the ground.  
  
" Sasuke!"exclaimed Sakura, "I think you got it!" Akamaru growled.  
  
In a soft voice Kiba hissed, "No, not yet." Sasuke looked at the beast again. There was his kunai stuck in the monster, but there wasn't any kind of blood coming out. When Sasuke looked closely, he slowly backed away from the thing.  
  
"What is it Sasuke-kun?"asked Sukura nervously, seeing the expression on his face. "Sasuke-kun?" He did not answer, nor take his eyes away from The Shadow. He merely pointed with a shaking hand. Sakura turned her head slowly towards the monster and instantly clapped her hands over her mouth.  
  
Sasuke's kunai was sinking into it's flesh. The thing did not seemed injured. There was amusement in it's eyes.  
  
"Heheheehehehe..." It's voice was strangely high pitched and when he heard it, Akamaru whined and jumped into Kiba's hands. Sakura felt something cold sliding down her spine. Ino had not taken her eyes off the monster. Now she shivered. Maybe this will help she thought as she put her shaky hands in front of her to make a little window with her two index fingers and thumbs. She aimed it at the slimy creature.  
  
"Shintenshin no jutsu!"she cried and then collasped on to the dirt ground, before anyone could catch her.  
  
"Ino!"cried Sakura, "Ino!" She looked expectantly at The Shadow. There was silence. Then-  
  
"Hheehehe," it laughed in it's chilling voice.  
  
"Is that Ino?" asked Kiba, cautiously.  
  
"Hehehehe," it went on, "Did you actually think I was going to fall for such as weak jutsu?" Kiba, Sasuke and Sakura all gasped.  
  
"She missed...?"breathed Sasuke.  
  
"No, she didn't," answered the Shadow. "But- those jutsu's have absolute no effect on me, because I don't have an actual mind!! Hehehee!"  
  
It streched out an hand-like blob towards Ino's crumpled body. Sasuke and Kiba lept in to save her but another hand streched out and covered both their bodies. Sakura was the only one free one now. She threw her dagger at the thing in attempt to distract it and ran to Ino. But The Shadow ignored the kunai. A tenticle wrapped itself around Sakura and then it lifted all three struggling bodies in the air.  
  
The black blob flowed over Ino, covering her. Now it looked like Ino's body was inside the beast. Sakura shuddered.  
  
"Ino!!!!!!"she yelled and then to the jell-o she snarled, "Let go of us!"  
  
"And what are you going to do if I don't?"it asked. Sakura didn't reply.  
  
"GRrrrRRRRRR!!!" All three heads turned to the source of the noise. It was Akamaru. He had not been caught by The Shadow.  
  
"Akamaru!!!" called Kiba, "Run away! There's nothing you can do! Run!" Akamaru turned to look at his owner. He was deciding whether to listen to his master or not. "Run Akamaru! Get out of the tunnel!!"Kiba repeated. But it was too late. A black tenticle, draped itself around Akamaru. Then it melted into a muzzel, to cover his snout.  
  
"What have you done you piece of SHIT!?" Kiba yelled at the enemy, his voice shaking with anger. Then he struggled wildy against The Shadows' grip. "Let me GO!"  
  
The red eyes focused on Kiba for a second, then on the dog. For second it seemed that there was a flicker of sadness in its eyes but then the grip tightened on Kiba and it raised him higher into the air. Before he knew it Kiba was thrown into Akamaru and momentem smashed them both against the wall. They both fell, unconscious.  
  
Sakura gasped in horror. "KIBA!!!" she cried in dispair. "Let go! Please!" Sasuke didn't say anything, nor did he struggle. He was looking closely at those red eyes. They seem to stirr a memory inside him. He exclaimed softly when the memory came back to him. How could i forget those eyes? he thought to himself, They remind me of...Itachi.  
  
"Itachi? Is that you?" he whispered. Sakura heared him and stopped trying to get free. She looked at Sasuke, then back to the thing holding her. It's him? she thought horrorified, it can't be. It just can't be. The thing, which had also heard Sasuke stopped, then raise its arms above, what looked like, its head.  
  
"Itachi? Who's that? Never heard of him, sorry." And with that, it flung Sakura and Sasuke across the ground with all it's might. They were both knocked out. After checking that they were all unconscious, it crawled away at a rapid speed with Ino inside its body.  
  
------ Hours later ------  
  
Team 1 was still running. As more and more time passed, Shikamaru got more and more edgy. We should stop for a while he thought, looking at Hinata. She was gradually slowing down.  
  
"We should have a rest!" he called to Hinata, Naruto and Shino.  
  
"But I can still go on!" protested Naruto. Not wanted to say he saw that Hinata was getting tired Shikamaru simply just said,  
  
"If you tire yourself out then, what will happen when we get to the end and there's our enemy, waiting for us?"  
  
"He does have a point you know." replied Shino, from the back, "let's stop." They all stopped but Naruto was still grumbling. Shikamaru looked at him.  
  
"If you're not tired then go do something for me." he offered.  
  
"What? What?" asked Naruto, instantly hyped up.  
  
"Go set up the traps."  
  
Naruto- .#  
  
"Go on, Naruto."urged Shino, with a grin. He held out some wire for Naruto. Naruto took the wire grudgingly and walked off. When he was gone Shikamaru sat next to Hinata.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned, "Or should we rest here for the night?" Hinata looked at Shikamaru, with shock. Why is being so nice? she thought. Shikamaru, who saw the surprised expression on her face shrugged and turned away embarassed.  
  
"It's just that- we're a team and all, so we havta look out for each other... you know?"he said quickly. Hinata was still looking at Shikamaru. "If you say to stop for a night I won't think you're weak or something because I know that Byakugan takes out a lot of Chakra, and you're really important to me- I mean the team..." he trailed off.

Shino glanced up surprised. Shikamaru and Hinata? Hmmmm, Interesting, he thought to himself. Hinata who didn't catch on to the last bit, merely just said, "Thanks,but maybe we should keep on going because Naruto won't be too eager to stay."  
  
Shikamaru bit his lip. Damn that Naruto! he thought bitterly.

**- hehehehe.. get the hints? lol til nxt chapter -  
**


	4. Chapter 4

- thank you for the reviews!!!! and sorry for the delay but i've been busy so i havn't had time to upload any stories. I think I'll update one or two stories a week...thanks for the review!!!! -  
  
--- Chapter 4 ---  
  
Kiba stirred. He felt something licking his face. " Stop it Akamaru," he groaned, "I'm alright now." The puppy, barked in delight. Kiba sat up, slowly and painfully. Shaking his head to clear it, he saw Sasuke and Sakura, lying on top of each other. If this was another situation, thought Kiba grimly, I would laugh my head off. He crawled slowly towards them, his legs still too numb to walk.  
  
"Oi, wake up!" he said, gently shaking them awake. They didn't move. Kiba froze. Were they...?  
  
"OI WAKE UP DAMMIT!" he yelled, frightened. Akamaru, sensing something was wrong, walked up to where Sakura lay. Cautiously, he sniffed her hand. BITE  
  
"ArggggGGHHHH!!!" Sakura sat straight up, holding her finger and yelping. She looked at Akamaru, who was meekly backing away. " THAT DAMN DOG!!" she yelled in fury, "I'm gonna get rabies!" Akamaru ran behind Kiba, using him as a shield. Kiba sighed with relief. Sakura, at least was alright. I'm not sure about Sasuke though, he thought, not with Sakura sitting on top of him.  
  
Sakura, finally calming down about her finger, asked, "Where's Sasuke?" Kiba raised an eyebrow up at her. She stared at him, not knowing what he was trying to say. Kiba glanced down. Sakura looked at what Kiba was looking at and jumped up in shock. She turned bright red.  
  
"Don't tell him, when he ' wakes, ok?" begged Sakura. Seeing the embarassment on Sakura's face, he decided not to.  
  
"I won't, anyway- Sasuke he'll wake, for sure?" Sakura nodded looking at Sasuke. Kiba trusted her. After all, she had been taught some basic skills in healing, by the famous Tsunade who was now the Hokage of Konoha. Tsunade was a medical specialist, who was said to have been able to cure any wound.  
  
"He's coming around" whispered Sakura, after awhile. Sasuke was indeed regaining consciousness. He opened his eyes gingerly. moaning he sat up, his back against the wall. Suddenly he remembered.  
  
" Where's that thing?" he demanded, think only about the Itachi look alike monster. "Kiba, where is it?" Sasuke tried to stand up, but his legs buckled underneath his weight.  
  
"Sasuke-kun!" exclaimed Sakura, darting forward, "Please, don't worry about that just yet. Let me heal you first! I'm not good at using my chakra in battle but I can heal your injuries at least." Sasuke shot Sakura a look. She shrank back. He looked away.  
  
"Yeah, that's true. You can't do anything but heal..." he scowled. Sakura felt as if she had just been slapped. She just stared at Sasuke, with tears in her eyes. Kiba was trying to pretend he wasn't there. Sasuke glanced at Sakura's pained face.  
  
"Sorry." he apologized, though he clearly was not. Sakura bit her lip. Timidly walked up to him. She streched her shaking hand towards him. He stiffened. She stopped instantly. Sasuke tutted, then relaxed. Her hand touched him on the shoulder. Blue chakra streamed out of her palm into Sasuke. Kiba saw Sasuke's wounds heal instantly right before his eyes. She's good, he thought to himself.  
  
When she had done, she moved away from Sasuke. She looked at Kiba, questioning. He shook his head.  
  
"I'm fine, but do you think that you could look at Akamaru?"  
  
"I- I'll try."she answered, surprised by his request. Sakura picked up Akamaru, slowly. Akamaru, whined, then licked her finger where he bit her before. He barked an apology. At least the dog is sorry, she thought bitterly, feeling fresh tears stinging her eyes. She hastily wiped them away. She placed her hands on Akamaru's head. As blue chakra came out once again, Akamaru slumpted.  
  
"Akamaru?" gasped Kiba. He looked at Sakura with wide eyes. Before he could shout at her she said softly without looking up from Akamaru's body-  
  
"I put him to sleep so he won't feel the pain when I heal his broken hind leg." Kiba had nothing to say to that but he watched on with anxiety. At last Sakura handed the dog back to it's master. Kiba tenderly stroked Akamaru's soft fur.  
  
" Thank you...Sakura."  
  
Sakura merely nodded. All of a sudden Sakura's world spun. She gasped and sat down hard on her backside. She held her temples in pain.  
  
"Sakura? What's wrong?" asked Kiba looking up from his beloved dog, his eyes dark with worry. When she didn't reply he repeated, "Sakura?"  
  
"I used up too much Chakra..." she explained, as her vision turned blurry. She used the cave walls to support herself up.  
  
"I'm fine," she went on, her voice shaky, "let's find Ino- arhhh!!" Sakura cried out in pain. She crumpled to the floor. In the distance she heard Sasuke mutter in disgust-  
  
"Weak shit. Holding us up." Sakura felt she had been slapped for the second time. Now she could not control her flowing tears. She was on her hands and knees, head down and her hair messed up. Drip drip Kiba gave Sasuke a dirty look.  
  
"What's your problem? he demanded, angry at Sasuke's attitude. "She just healed you! At least say thank you!" Sasuke gave Kiba a dirty look. Sakura sniffed, and looked up at Sasuke. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying.  
  
"Wha- what's with you? Why are you being- so cold?" she whispered, her voice wobbling. Her pink hair was plastered over her face. She looked like a mess. Sasuke didn't answer. He just looked away in disgust.  
  
"Tell me- tell me what I've done wrong, Sasuke! And I'll change! I'm sorry!" Sakura went on, shakily," I'll do anything for you!"  
  
Kiba looked from Sakura to Sasuke, who's back was turned. He decide to leave them alone. Gently he picked up Akamaru and walked off into the distance. Sasuke still didn't say anything but he could feel Sakura standing up, using the wall as support.  
  
In a pained voice she continued,"When we were at the academy, it was just a crush... but now- now I... I think I..no wait... I know that I love you!" There was silence as Sakura's tears continued to fall. She then felt her world go black.  
  
Hearing Sakura falling to the floor, Sasuke closed his eyes and grinded his teeth together. He fell back on the wall behind him and gradually sunk to the ground. He hugged his knees.  
  
I'm sorry Sakura, he thought banging his head back on to the rocks behind him, I love you too, but I can't tell you that. Itachi could be anywhere here and if he knows that you're someone I care for- then your life will be in danger too. This is a sacrafice I have to make. It should be me that should be apologizing- I'm sorry, Sakura...  
  
With all the healing she did on him, Sasuke felt a little fatigue. He groaned holding his head. And with that he fell to the floor. Sasuke was right. Itachi was in the tunnels and he was definetly listening to their conversation. So that Sakura girl likes Sasuke then ,ehh? he chuckled. Hmmm, she would be a good tool...  
  
--- Team 1 ---  
  
Grumbling about how unfair Shino and Shikamaru were treating him, Naruto strolled back from putting up the traps. When he walked back Shikamaru looked up, amused.  
  
"Huh? What's so funny, Shikamaru?" asked Naruto, scowling.  
  
"Heh, it took you a whole half an hour just to set up two traps?"  
  
Naruto reddened slightly. Scratching the back of his head he said, "Well, it was going alright but I uhh.. accidently got tangled in the wire and then i couldn't untangle it in the light." He said this while gesturing to the flimsy light that shone through between the cracks of the tunnel. Naruto made to sit next to Hinata but when he saw Shikamaru there, he just frowned and sat next to Shino. There was silence. At last Hinata timidly spoke up.  
  
"Shikamaru thinks we should stay the night... Is that ok, Naruto?" Naruto's frown deepened when he heard this but didn't say anything. He gave Shikamaru a questioning look. Shikamaru shrugged and then replied,"We all need rest. Even if you don't."  
  
He does have a point, thought Naruto to himself, not that I care about him being tired but Hinata... His thoughts trailed off. "sure. We'll stay." He paused awhile then continued, "if that's ok with you Shino..." Shino nodded.  
  
So for the rest of the night Hinata, Shikamaru, Naruto and Shino took turns watching for enemies while the others slept. Shikamaru took the first watch. Troublesome yet nice and quiet with Naruto sleeping and not speaking. He sighed and looked up into the roof of the cave. Shikamaru liked watching the clouds when he was bored. Now there were ugly rocks obstructing the way so instead he thought about the task they were given.  
  
No sign of danger yet, well at least not for us, he thought remembering Sakura's scream. Shikamaru decided that he couldn't do anything about that and tried to imagine what the other side of the tunnel lay. At last he woke Shino , so he could get some sleep. One by one they took turns watching over, until the sun rose and the cave was streaked with wispy morning light.  
  
Hinata, who was the last person to be woken, shivered. Theres a forboding feeling about this place, she thought. Once the light had shone through, she gently shook Shino, Shikamaru and Naruto awake. She smiled when she saw Naruto sleeping. His blonde hair was messed up and he was drooling. When Hinata tapped him on his shoulder he merely flopped over. Shikamaru yawned and streched, while Shino sat up and rubbed his eyes.  
  
"Didn't you wake Naruto, Hinata?"asked Shino, looking at Naruto and frowning.  
  
"I did- but he won't wake."  
  
"Sheesshh. What a troublesome guy." muttered Shikamaru. He walked over to where Naruto was sleeping and kicked him in the ribs. Naruto groaned but did not wake up. Shikamaru was about to kick him again, this time even harder when Shino stopped him.  
  
"Let me."he grinned. Shikamaru was about to say something but Shino put his hands to his lips. Shikamaru closed his mouth. Shino crouched down and a single bug crawled out of his palm. Then he guided the bug on to Naruto. Shino stepped back. A moment later Naruto jumped up, laughing.  
  
"hahahahhahaha..there's - there's something tickling me- hahahahahha!"  
  
"Nice one Shino!"laughed Shikamaru, patting him on the back. Only when Naruto had calmed down did they start heading off again. They were at it for nearly half a day when Hinata stopped. Both Naruto and Shikamaru rushed to Hinata's side at once.  
  
"What is it? Are you hurt?" they asked in unison, then breaking off to give each other glares. Hinata just shook her head and pointed ahead. Shino, Shikamaru and Naruto all turned to look. In the distance, not one kilometre away, was the end of the tunnel. They could all see the bright light shining into the cave.  
"We made it!!!" shouted Naruto, puching the air. "Let's go!" He started running, with the others not far behind him. When they were near the exit did Shikamaru have a sudden thought. It's a trap...  
  
He was right because the next second a metal cage came crashing down on them.  
  
- hehehe i just love cliffehangers... lol i wonder whats going to happen next? hmmm? oh and theres not going to be a ShikaHina scene for quite some bit.. at least myb not until they get out... well thats if they do....hehehe- 


	5. Chapter 5

**- plz rite more reviews!! i know some people read it but they can't be bothered to rite reviews... reviews are encouraging...you know?? lol p i don't know what i want to happen next so if people would give me some idea's that'll be great! hope you like this chapter... it's a bit OTT but it's my story so i can make characters do stuff i want them to do.. you'll see why if you read on... -**

**  
**  
--- Chapter 5 -  
Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru and Shino all skidded to a stop. At first none of them knew what had happened, then Shikamaru exclaimed -  
  
"Shit! Why didn't I think?!?!?!!!" He slammed his hand on one of the cage bars. "Damn it. Damn IT! DAMN IT!"  
"Why are you getting pissed , Shikamaru? I'm sure we can get out. It's just a cage..." said Hinata.  
  
"Because there's -" he only managed to say before Naruto broke in.  
  
"Don't worry Hinata! Rasengan!" Blue chakra was building up on Naruto's palm. They could all see the chakra moving in the shape of a large tennis ball. Using his other hand Naruto began to retain the form of the rasengan. At last when he was ready he drove the enormous amount of chakra into the bars.  
  
Shino and Hinata held their breath. Shikamaru was frowning. He clearly did not expect it to work, however powerful the technique was. And he was right. Suddenly the bar that was in contact with Naruto's Rasengan, glowed blue and the chakra on Naruto's palm died out. Naruto stumbled back and looked at his hand.  
  
"There's no way we can break through." repeated Shikamaru, this time finishing his sentence.  
  
"How do you know?"inquired Shino, with one eyebrow raised. Shikamaru shrugged.  
  
"If they wanted to stop us with a cage, then this must not be just an ordinary cage." he looked at Shino, Naruto and Hinata, then added. "It says so."  
  
Naruto recovering slightly from the shock that his new technique didn't work asked, "It says? Where?" Shikamaru pointed upwards. The top of the cage was not covered by bars but by a sheet of metal. There were faint engravings on it. They all peered at the engravings. And read-  
  
The heart is trapped inside a cage Can only be freed but only Be destroyed and broken By others power of everyone of all.  
  
On all four corners of the verse there were strange symbols. They were all the same. Four petals joined making a flower, with lines that looked like vines between the petals.  
  
"Ummmm, it doesn't make sense." muttered Hinata.  
  
"Yeah it's strange, the poem doesn't even rhyme."complained Naruto.  
  
"Poems don't have to rhyme."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Well anyway, we can't do anything because the cage looks like it absorbs Chakra." pointed out Shikamaru. Everyone except Shikamaru all tried their own methods of breaking out but no one succeeded.  
  
Shino tried to get his bugs to try and find a weak spot in the cage. There was none.  
  
Hinata used her Byakugan to scan their metal prison. She tried to read the jutsu's spelled on the cage. She deactivated her Byakugan. She saw nothing.  
  
Naruto just used brutal force. He used Kage Bunnshin and got all the Narutos' to kick or punch one concentrated bar. The cage didn't even buge one bit. He sat down with a thump. Shikamaru didn't try anything. He just sat in a corner, rereading the engravings. No it doesn't make sense, he thought, fustrated that he couldn't work out the hidden meaning. He was so sure that there was a secret meaning. The poem was just a message. And because he was Shikamaru, he treated it like a game. A puzzel perhaps. At last when Shino, Hinata and Naruto had given up, they joined Shikamaru at looking up at the verse and trying to crack the code.  
  
----- Team 2 -----  
  
Kiba was waiting along the tunnels, so he could give Sakura and Sasuke some time to work things out. When he heard silence, he assumed that it was all settled. Kiba, carrying his dog Akamaru, walked back to place where he left them. He mouth opened in surprise.  
  
They were both there, but they were on the ground. Before he could do anything he was hit from behind. Kiba's eyes rolled up in his head as he hit the floor.  
  
From the shadows stepped a man, wearing a long black cloak, that brushed the ground as he walked. The cloak wrapped around his body. He also donned a Konoha head band, but with a line crossing the leaf sign. His raven hair was sticking up. But that wasn't his main feature. The strangers eyes were red, with three comma-like shapes in each.  
  
The Sharingan.  
  
This was the legendary Uchiha Itachi. The brother of Uchiha Sasuke.  
  
He walked over to Sasuke. "I could kill you now, brother," he whispered, "But that would be no fun. I want to torture you, like what you did to me. I'll use this girl. Pretending that you found her annoying won't make me think that you hate her. I know you love this girl Sasuke. After all I am your brother..."  
  
And with that he looked at Sakura's body. For a second his eyes flashed and Sakura woke startled. She no longer felt weak. In fact she felt full of power.  
  
Itachi walked up to her. Sakura saw him walking towards her and backed away, eyes wide with fright.  
  
Itachi stopped in front of her, then bent down so their faces were parallel. Itachi smiled and reached out to touch her face. Sakura cringed.  
  
"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice small. Itachi cupped her face in his hands.  
  
"Why... don't I remind you of Sasuke?"  
  
Sakura nodded then froze. "You're Itachi..." Just thinking about Sasuke hurt. Tears began again. Itachi wiped her tears away with his hand.  
  
"Now don't cry. Forget about Sasuke. I'll take care of you and love you." whispered Itachi into Sakura's ear.  
  
"I can't...I can't forget about him..."  
  
"You have to. You can't live your life loving someone who treats you like this."  
  
flashback "Yeah, that's true. You can't do anything but heal..." "Weak shit. Holding us up."  
  
Sakura stopped crying. Itachi is right, she thought angrily, why am I still following him like a love sick puppy when he clearly hates me?  
  
Itachi smiled when he noticed Sakura had stopped crying. He helped her up. Sakura looked up into Itachi's eyes. For some reason she trusted them. She trusted him.  
  
"Stay with me, Sakura-chan." murmured Itachi, "and we can get Sasuke back."  
  
"Get him back?"asked Sakura timidly.  
  
"For what he did to you..."  
  
"But I don't think thats a good idea..."  
  
"Remember what he's done to you..."whispered Itachi.  
  
"weak shit..." "Weak shit..." "Weak shit.."  
  
Sakura nodded, determined. "What do I have to do?" asked Sakura and after an afterthought she added "Itachi-sama."  
  
Itachi chuckled. This is too easy, he thought to himself. "Now there Sakura, don't called me Itachi-sama. And you don't have to do anything for me. Not just yet. Act like you normally would and after you get out, I'll come and look for you." He placed his hands on Sakura's shoulders.  
  
"But- but how would I know you wouldn't just desert me?" asked Sakura. Itachi looked thoughful for a second then looked Sakura straight in the eye.  
  
"I won't because..." He still had his hands on Sakura's shoulders so he pushed her back against a wall. Itachi bent down slowly. Sakura's heartbeat quickened as she realized what he was about to do. Instictivly she titled her head upwards. Slowly their lips met and Itachi's hands moved down from Sakura's shoulders to her waist.  
  
Sakura felt his hands move and gently raised her arms around Itachi's neck. She could feel Itachi's body pressing against hers. Now Itachi had one hand on her hips and put his other hand on her cheek. Slowly he broke the kiss.  
  
He put his lips to Sakura's ears and whispered, "Wait for me Sakura." Then he disappeared. Sakura was still leaning on the wall. She pressed her hand to her lips.  
  
Kiba groaned. He had woken up. Quickly Sakura woke from her trance and ran to Kiba's side.  
  
"Uhhhhhhh, what happened?"Kiba asked. Then he remembered what had happened.  
  
"Quick Sakura let's go! There's an enemy near. I was just attcked!"  
  
"Don't be silly."scolded Sakura, "You hit your head on the rock." She pointed to a rock jutting out. Kiba rubbed the back of his head and felt something cold. He removed his hand and looked at it. Kiba's hand was covered thickly in blood.  
  
"Damn."he cursed. "Maybe I did hit my head against something."  
  
Sakura took out her flask and bekoned Kiba towards her. "I have to clean out the cut." Kiba moved towards her. Sakura poured water on the wound and when she was done she placed her hand on his head. Once again blue chakra streamed out of her palm and into the wound.  
  
As Sakura was tending to his head, Kiba was thoughtful. I don't know how long I've been out but it seems that Sakura has regained her strength completely. He looked at the light. I've only been unconscious for about 5 mins.  
  
"Hey Sakura?" said Kiba.  
  
"Yes, Kiba-kun?"  
  
"Awhile ago you were really weak because you used up too much Chakra. Now you're healing my wound and you seem fine. Whats going on?"  
  
Damn it. Sakura swore inside her head. But instead of saying what she thought she merely said,"This is just a cut. It's simple enough. Plus I heal fast. I don't know why but I just do."  
  
"Ohhhh...ok then" replied Kiba though he was still doubtful.  
  
Once done healing Kiba, Sakura sat down. Looking at her knees she said quietly "I wonder where Ino is?"  
  
"She might not be alive."  
  
"Of course she's alive! What are you talking about?"snapped Sakura, giving Kiba a death stare.  
  
Kiba cowered. Then he held up his hands in defence. "Ok.Ok. But how can you be sure?"  
  
Sakura didn't answer.  
  
The black blob flowed over Ino, covering her. Now it looked like Ino's body was inside the beast. "Itachi? Is that you?" Sasuke whispered.  
  
Itachi. Of course! That monster must have been Itachi or something Itachi was controlling and must have done something to her.  
  
**- i wonder what happened to Ino? hehehe and just what will Sakura do for Itachi? Will she really turn her back on Sasuke? - **


	6. Chapter 6

**- did you like the itasaku scene? i fout it was a bit OTT but hehehee -**

----- Near the exit of Team 2's tunnel -----

Itachi was walking along the tunnel. He saw the moonlight streaming through. He smiled and turned around. There was the big blob of black goo that had attacked team 2. He still had Ino in it's belly. He stopped just behind his master.

"Leave the girl here, Zukono."ordered Itachi. The Shadow obeyed and let Ino slide to the floor. (Zukono is just someone I made up.)

"Why are you leaving her here master? Shouldn't we just kill her?"

"That will just be a waste of energy and time. She'll only remember that she escaped from you and managed to get to the exit." Itachi walked over to the young girl with blonde hair and bent down. He placed his hand on top of her closed eyes. Itachi's servant watched from behind. At last Itachi stood up.

"Let's go." he commanded walking towards the moonlight.

"Uhhhh master? Why did you have me capture her in the first place? You could have defeated her easily."

Itachi froze. "You shouldn't ask that much Zukono, or one day you'll die."

Getting the hint, Zukono shut up. He followed quietly.

Damn that Zukono, thought Itachi angrily even though his face didn't show it. He might have forced me to tell him my weakness and I would've had to killed him. Shintenshin no jutsu, a jutsu which allows you to enter your opponents' mind, the only jutsu that can defeat me.

Suddenly a cage exactly like the one that had trapped team 1, fell upon Itachi and his servant. The Shadow merely slipped through the bars. Itachi inspected the cage.

"Piece of trash." he muttered and his Sharingan eyes flashed. The cage broke apart. The technique he used was so powerful that the metal turned into powder.

Silently, Zukono and his master Itachi left the tunnels and disappeared with the shadows of the night.

----- Team 1 -----

Shikamaru, Naruto, Shino and Hinata were still sitting on the dirt floor, glancing up at the poem every so often. As he was thinking, Shino let the bugs crawl all over him. Shikamaru, who was grossed out by Shino was starring at his own knees, brows furrowed, trying ot think of a way to get out of their prison. Hinata was hugging her knees.

It was Naruto that was still staring up. "Damn it!" he swore. "Damn it!"

"Theres no point in swearing about it you know," said Shikamaru, aggravated that he could not think of anything, "It's not like swearing can get you out of here."

Naruto shook his head. "No. Not about not understanding it... doesn't rhyme!"

"Geezzeess, how troublesome." Shikamaru re-reads the verse for the hundreth time. This time he did not sigh and look away again.

The heart is trapped inside a cage Can only be freed but only Be destroyed and broken By others power of everyone of all.

Maybe the words are scrambled, he thought, no, thats not it... He was trying to think of a new plan but Naruto's voice was stuck in his head. "its just that... it doesn't even rhyme!...it doesn't even rhyme!" Then it occured to him. Maybe they weren't suppose to rhyme, so you take the last words of each line. Cage. Only. Broken. Power. Still doesn't make sense.

"Ughhhh" he groaned holding his head. Hinata looked at Shikamaru anxiously. She got up and brushed the dirt from her clothes and walked up to him.

"Are you ok Shikamaru-kun?"she asked. "You should rest, you've been thinking to hard." Shikamaru gave Hinata a startled look and looked away quickly before she could see his blush.

"No- no it's ok Hinata-chan. I'm fine. You should rest yourself." All the while this was happening, Naruto was looking at the pair, suspiciously. Stupid Shikamaru, Naruto fumed to himself, taking the spotlight, and the girls... Naruto had a sudden thought. Shikamaru was the next Sasuke! The thought made him shudder in disgust.

Shino spoke up."It's getting late." he said, "we should get some sleep. The sun was indeed setting as the carvern got darker and darker. Everyone lay down. Naruto made sure that he was as close to Hinata as possible and Shikamaru was far away. When they were all settled, they realized that now they were staring straight at the forbodding curse-like poem.

Shikamaru started fidgeting because of the uncomfortable ground. Suddenly he froze. Slowly he turned his head to read the poem once more. Shikamaru shivered. He had figured it out!

----- Team 2 -----

"Are you sure you can walk Sasuke?" asked Sakura nervously. No part of her face or actions showed any of her anguist or hatred she felt inside. She seemed exaclty like the old Sakura- or so Sasuke and Kiba thought.

Sasuke brushed Sakura's hand away impatiently. Even though she had announced her hatred for Sasuke, she still flinched at the short contact of their hands.

"Get away from me!" hissed Sasuke, his voice in pain. He stood up and looked at Kiba. "Let's get going."

"OK" Kiba nodded politely even though he hadn't forgot how badly he treated Sakura. With Akamaru securely in his arms Kiba set off.

Sakara lagged behind the both of them, watching Sasukes' back. Her face twisted in rage. I won't let anyone get the better of me! Itachi-sama will be waiting of me. I don't need Sasuke. As she thought that, sudden excruciating pain hit her chest. She bit her bottom lip and clutched at her chest. Tears started rolling down her cheeks.

A cold breeze swept down the tunnel. Sakura shivered and stood up straight. She heard something. Where was it coming from? She looked around her. There was no one there. Sakura saw Kiba and Sasuke walking in the distance.

'Saaaaakkkuuuuurrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaa.....' the voice whispered.

"Where- where are you? And who are you?" Sakura choked. ' why I _am_ you, Sakura. Don't you remember me? Or should I say- have you forgotten who you are? I'm you, talking inside your head.'

Sakura clutched at her hair. I'm going crazy! she thought. ' No you're not crazy...not crazy at all...' Sakura stiffened. You can hear me? she thought to the Sakura inside her head. (sorry if that sounded weird but there's no other way to write it)   
' well of course, I _am_ you.' When Sakura didn't say anything Evil Sakura continued. ' there is no reason why you should grieve over Sasuke, after all he doesn't care about you. Now Itachi... he's someone that will take care of you for the rest of your life. Stay with him and do what he wants you to do, and you can be happy forever...." the voice trailed off and disappeared.

(Evil Sakura is the voice inside her head. Like you know how sometimes in cartoons you see a demon trying to convince the person to do something and the angel one is telling them not to lisiten to the demon? well yeah this is it and Evil Sakura is the demon and Inner Sakura is the angel. I hope you get what i mean . )

Inner Sakura - 'Sakura, it's not too late to turn your back on evil...'

Evil Sakura- 'Shut up! She can make up her own mind.'

Inner Sakura- 'Sakura, you can gain nothing from evil.'

Evil Sakura- ' Don't listen to her Sakura...'

Inner Sakura- 'Sakura...'

Evil Sakura- 'Sakura...'

Inner Sakura- 'Sakura...'

Evil Sakura- 'Sakura...'

Sakura shook her head ferociously to clear it. The two minds disappeared. "Sakura?" Was someone calling her again? "Sakura"

Kiba was shaking Sakura's shoulders."Sakura?" Slowly Sakura's eyes regained focus again.

"Huh?" she muttered blankly, "What happened?" She saw Kiba in front of her. She looked around and saw Sasuke leaning on a wall, impatient to be going. Her chest tightened.

"You zoned out, Sakura-chan." answered Kiba ,"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah yeah I'm fine," replied Sakura, absent mindly.

"Can we go now?" asked Sasuke, who was looking bored. Kiba gave Sakura a questioning look. Sakura gave him a small smile. Once again they set off, this time Sasuke was walking ahead and Kiba walked with Sakura.

They walked through the night and never once did they stop. Only in the morning, as the sun was risingdid they see a spot of bright light in the distance. They started walking a little faster, yet more alert for any signs of traps. All of a sudden, Kiba stopped them. He had they sharpest eyes and nose and obvoiusly he could sense something.

"What's wrong, Kiba-kun?" asked Sakura nervously, squinting her eyes to see further.

Kiba sniffed the air again and again to make sure he was had the right smell. "Sakura... it's Ino..." Sakura's eyes grew wide. Suddenly she saw it too. There ahead of them, was a slumpted figure, that was lying on the floor. Sakura ran towards it, not caring if it was a trap or not.

"Ino!! Wake up Ino! It's us!"

Ino groaned and opened one eye. "Sakura?" she asked her voice bewildered. Sakura hugged Ino, as if she thought that the Shadow had killed her. Kiba grinned at Ino, who was rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I thought you were - well.. killed by that thing." he trailed off.

Ino grinned back. "How could you think I was that weak?" she said teasingly. "I got away from it then somehow I managed to make it this far."

Sasuke eyed Ino. Something was strange but he couldn't put his finger on it. Sakura hugged Ino, obviously relieved that she was ok.

"Lets go then! Since we're nearly there." said Kiba, nodding to the exit. Ino and Sakura nodded. Ino walked up to Sasuke, and she was a little suprised when Sakura didn't stop her.

"Hi Sasuke! Aren't you glad I'm safe?"

Sasuke gave her a look of disgust and grunted. Ino's smile faded, and she walked back to Sakura. "What's up with him?" she whispered.

Sakura shrugged, then sighed. "I don't know but lately his been... moody." Ino questioned Sakura further until she knew what happened the past 2 days.

"Ohhhh, I'm sorry Sakura. I really am."

Sakura waved the apology away. "Oh I'll get over it."

"Hey" Kiba called over his shoulders ,"Come and have a look at this." Sakura and Ino both ran to catch up with the boys. When they got there they saw white sand on the ground. It looked very strange with in contrast with the dark brown dirt.

Kiba bent down to scoop some up. Gingerly he sniffed it. "Smells- strange..." he said at last.

"Strange?"inquired Ino. "What kind of smell is that?"

"Smells like Chakra."

"It might be a trap." That was Sasuke.

"No, the chakra in this thing had burnt out and died. It won't do us any harm."

"Are you sure Kiba?" asked Sakura, looking at the white powder in Kiba's hands and on the floor. Kiba nodded. He stood up, brushed the powder off his hands and walked towards the exit. Slowly the others followed. One by one they disappeared in the brightness of the light as they walked out of the tunnels.

- heheheheheh well team 2 has gotten out, but what 'bout team 1? has anyone figured out the hidden message in the code yet? If you have, don't spoil the story for other people but you can email me and tell me what you know. -


	7. Chapter 7

**- there were hardly any reviews for chapter 6!! Thank you to those people who did review, and woould more people review for this chapter?? begging pleaassee??? -**

**- I live for reviews...and the update took so long because no one reviewed lol anyways hope you like this chapter -**

**----- Chapter 7 -----**

Shikamaru sat up, his eyes wide at his new discovery. He reread the poem again and again till he was sure that it made sense. Shino noticed Shikamaru's sudden movements and turned to see him looking up. Shino sat up. Not wanting to wake Naruto and Hinata up, he said in a soft voice-

"What is it, Shikamaru?" Shikamaru turned his head towards Shino, eyes bright.

"Wake Naruto and Hinata up. I worked out the clue!"

Shinogave Shikamaru a look then turned to shakeNaruto awake. Naruto just groaned and turned over. Shino sighed. Bending down to Naruto's ear he whispered menacingly "Don't make me release a bug again..." Naruto jumped up, fully awake and alert. Shikamaru decide to wake Hinata up and walked towards her.

Much to his suprise, her eyes were opened and frightened. Hinata's Byakugan was activated and she was looking at something in the distance.

"Hinata-chan?" Shikamaru asked warily, not sure what had gotten Hinata so frightened. He helped her up, but her eyes did not wander from the invisible menace.

Naruto ran to Hinata's side. "Hinata! What is it? What do you see?" he whispered, anxiety in his voice.

Hinata did not speak, but slowly she raised her hand. Shakily she pointed her finger, towards the way they had come from. All three boys turned to look. They saw nothing but darkness yet Hinata continued to shiver.

"What is it Hinata-chan?"asked Shino.

Hinata took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, "There is a huge boulder- rolling towards us- around 2km away- coming very fast- it'll reach us in 2 minutes at the most."

"What?!?!" yelped Naruto, "You've got to be kidding Hinata-chan!" Naruto was desparate to get out of the cage. He ran at the bars again and again until Shino pulled him away.

"Shikamaru knows how to get us out." he said, then he looked at Shikamaru questioning, "Don't you?"

Shikamaru nodded. He pointed to the poem above their heads and explained, "See how the poem doesn't rhyme? Well it's not suppose to."

Everyone looked at him in shock. "What do you mean?"asked Hinata, confused.

"If you put the first and the last words of each line together they joined to make a sentence." Shikamaru continued. Shino gazed up at the poem and as he finished reading his mouth opened in suprise. Naruto read it out.

"The. Cage. Can. Only. Be. Broken." he drew a breath in suprise and licked his dry lips and went on. "By. Power. Of. All."

Naruto and Hinata gasped. "So- so what do we have to do, Shikamaru-kun?"asked Hinata softly.

"I- I dunno."muttered Shikamaru, frowning, "I'm still thinking."

"Well the rock is going to crush us all if we don't hurry."

"Power...we need Chakra." Shikamaru was still murmuring to herself. "That's IT!"he annouced suddenly, punching one of his fist into his other palm.

"Well whats your good idea?" asked Naruto desparately. "Hurry and tell us SHikamaru, I don't want to die!!!!!" Now they could hear the rumbling noise of the approaching danger.

"Quick!" he ordered, shouting over the din. "Shino grab the bar at the front of the cage. Hinata, Naruto, do the same on the left and the right." He himself stood on his toes and touched the roof of the cage with his fingers.

"What are you doing?"asked Shino, watching as Shikamaru reached up. "Why don't you take the other side?"

"Because thats the side the stone the coming. If I accidently break that then the rock will continue chasing us!" he explained

Hinata was already in place but Naruto was frozen with fear.

"What if it doesn't work?" he yelled, fear in his voice heard by all.

"There's NO TIME FOR WHAT IF's!" Shikamaru shouted impatiently. "Hurry up and do as I say!" Naruto glanced at Shikamaru then ran to the bars. With one clammy hand he held on to it. He gripped it until his knuckles turned white. "Now what?" he yelled.

"Send all your Chakra through those bars!" instructed Shikamaru. There was a edge of panic in his voice now. All four team mates closed their eyes and concentrated. Eventhough their eyes were closed they could all hear the advancing boulder. As it was getting closer the sound was gradually getting louder.

Hinata clamped her eyes shut, to block out the sound. Concentrate, she thought,while gritting her teeth,concentrate, concentrate, concentrate! She imaged her flow of chakra and directed it to her palms. Burning hot chakra streamed out and surrounded her side of the cage. It was happening to the others too.

When Hinata thought she could not hold on any longer, there was a loud bang and four bars on Shino's side fell out. Without needing any instructions from Shikamaru they all scrambled out.

"Run! The cage might not hold the boulder!" shouted Shikamaru, when he saw the others just standing there, obviously relieved that they had gotten out. Without looking back even once they ran for their lives. They were nearly out the tunnel when the boulder and the cage collided, and the crash echoed through the caves. With a resounding crack, the huge rock split and splintered into many pieces.

They were out of the cave and the early sunlight blinded their eyes. We survived! thought Naruto to himself, atonished at his luck. _We survived!_ He turned to Shikamaru who was bent over, trying tocatch his breath. That guy, Naruto thought, that guy just saved our lives. Without thinking he jumped on Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru! Thank you, you're _so_ smart." he exclaimed happily, he hugged. "My hero!!!!" Shikamaru who was not expecting any more attacks, fell on the dirt face-first.

"Arghhh, Naruto," he said through a moth full of dirt and dead leaves, "are you trying to kill me?" Naruto was embarrassed about what he had just done. "Heh. Sorry."

"Well get off me then!"

"Ohh...sorry..."he appologized once again.

Shino was inspected their surroundings. They were on top of a cliff around 400metres high, overlooking the village of Konoha. There were sparse trees, and the ground was covered by dirt and rock. Shino suddenly heard movement behind the trees.

As quick as a flash Shino had a kunai in his hand.

"Who's there?" he asked.

**- well what do you think about that? hmmmm next chapter i'm not sure whether to put HinaShika scenes or HinaNaru scenes...there definitely will be SakuItachi scenes and to those people who read my fanfic, it wouldn't hurt just to write one lil' review ...will it????? -**


	8. Chapter 8

**- Arigatou!!!! Arigatou!!!! Thank you for those reviews!!!! . I'm so happy... I'm on the verge of tears....wahahaha..lol and thank you to those ppl who gave me suggestions..it really helps. ok so read on... -**

**-Sorry for the delay but I made this Chpater extRA long. ENjOY!-**

**----- Chapter 8 -----**

Shino spun around, kunai in one hand. "Who's there?" he asked. Shikamaru, Hinata and Naruto turned to see what Shino was looking at. They all stared at the tree. There was silence then suddenly a voice behind them said-

"Well done passing the first test- Naruto, Shikamaru, Shino, Hinata."

Naruto jumped up and yelped. "_Granny Tsunade!_ Don't scare us like that!!"

Shikamaru sank to the ground, one hand pressed against his chest, which was beating abnormally fast. Shino lowered his kunai slowly and frowned. He certainly didn't like being snuck up on. Hinata was still frozen in place. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and with one hand brushed away the sweat on her forehead. Then following Shikamaru's lead, she sat down on the floor. She stayed there as if mesmerised by the dirt ground.

Naruto and Shikamaru both noticed Hinata's shock. They both glared at the fifth Hokage in digust and ran to Hinata's side.

'Are you ok Hinata?" asked Shikamaru, offering her a flask of water.

"You're not hurt are you?" asked Naruto at the same time, also offering her a flask of water.

Naruto and Shikamaru both threw at each other. Their eyes sparked electricity.

Shino and Tsunade grinned at the amusing scene before them. Naruto was on Hinata's left and Shikamaru on the right. Both were attempting to give Hinata their flask of water. Hinata was still gazing at the ground, and since she was right-handed she took Shikamaru's flask and drank from it.

Shikamaru grinned evily at Naruto, obviously triumphant. Naruto was pissed now. He jammed the lid back on his own flask and stood up. After giving Shikamaru another look of hostility, he stalked off to sulk behind some trees .

After he was gone, Shikamaru sat down beside Hinata.

"You ok?"he asked quietly. She looked up, just realizing he was there.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm over the shock now."

Shikamaru, relieved that she was alright, sighed. He raised his hands then hesitated. Slowly he put his arms around Hinata's waist. Hinata's eyes widened. "Shikamaru? What are you doing...?"she whispered.

Naruto planted himself behind a tree, were he could fume alone. Stupid Shikamaru! he thought while pounding the dirt with his fist. Stupid. _Stupid_. **STUPID**! Why is there always someone better than me? First it was Sasuke! Then Shikamaru! He anger raged on.

"I wonder what they're doing now?" he muttured to himself, after awhile. He leened a bit to his right, peering from behind the tree to see. **Choke** **o.O#** Naruto whipped back behind the tree.

"What is Shikamaru doing, with his hands on her hips!" hissed Naruto, really, really pissed off now. "He sure has quick hands...the moment I'm gone too...Damn that bastard!"

"What are you doing, Shikamaru?" asked Hinata, meekly.

"I'm helping you up, Hinata-chan." replied Shikamaru, innocently. He grinned at her.

Hinata blushed and ducked her head. "Ohhh..."

Slowly, Shikamaru helped Hinata on her feet. He let go of her just when Naruto stormed out from behind the tree.

Oh so you've got your filthy hands off my girl have you? Naruto thought aggressively, while giving Shikamaru glares of hatred.

Hinata noticed the tension between the two guys but didn't know the cause. "Uhhh, Naruto-kun? Whats wrong?" she asked anxiously. Naruto's expression changed in a blink of an eye. He smiled sweetly at her.

"Nothing's wrong, Hinata."

"Ohhh well you seemed kinda peeved at Shikamaru, so I was just wondering...that's all."

"Why would I be angry at Shikamaru?" Naruto said with another strained smile, reassuring Hinata, "After all...he just saved my life."

Inner Naruto - huh yeah right, I'll rather die back there than see him touch my girl!!!!

As all this was unfolding, Tsunade and Shino were standing shocked. Tsunade giggled like a school girl and Shino tried hard to repress a grin. Competition for Hinata? mused Tsunade, this will be interesting.

Then, nearly forgetting what she was there to do, she gave herself a mental slap. Snap out of it Tsunade, you've got something to do here.

"Well, now that everyone has come out of the caves, you can go home and rest." Tsunade said, raising her voise so that Shikamaru and Naruto would hear. They both turned to look.

"Everyone?" repeated Shino. "Has the other team come out already?"

"That's right." Tsuande answered, nodding her head. "They came out an hour or so before you guys."

So Sasuke made it out, thought Naruto unsurprised. Then he rememebered Sakura.

"Is Sakura alright?" he asked eyes wide. "We heard a scream in the caves, we weren't sure if it was her or not.."

Tsunade looked surprised but she said "She's fine. I'm sure it was nothing serious."

Naruto sighed, relieved. So Sasuke saved her after all...

"Well now that you've completed your first task, you will have one month to train for the second task." continued Tsunade, seeing as everyone was getting ready to leave. Shikamaru stopped. "What's the next task?"he asked.

Tsunade gave them all a mysterious smile. "You'll find out on the day." And with that she disappeared.

With Tsunade gone, they all decided to head home. With one last look at the caves they walked down the narrow path that lead them to the edge of Konoha village. When they got to the gate, they split up walking in different directions. Both Shikamaru and Naruto offered to walk Hinata home, but she said she could manage on her own. Saying their goodbyes, they departed, with Shikamaru and Naruto gazing longingly at Hinata's retreating back.

Shino and Shikamaru, heading home straight away, but Naruto ambled towards his favourite place, in all of Konoha. The ramen bar. He arrived and shouted a greeting to the old man and lady who wroked there.

"One miso ramen, please!" he shouted. He stomach rumbled loudly. "Actually, make it two!"

"No problem Naruto!" replied the owner, with a hearty smile. "And since you're my favourite customer, I'll make the second one, on the house!"

Naruto's face, which was clouded with thoughts about Shikamaru and Hinata, lit up immediately. "Thank you, old man! You've really made my day!"

Soon, Naruto's ramen was in front of him. It smelt delicious and his stomach grumbled even louder. He put his hands together. "Itadakimasu!" (something Japanese people say before meals)

And with that he gobbled down his food. After finishing another 4 more bowls of ramen, Naruto licked his chops, his belly satisfied. He payed for his food and waved goodbye to the old man.

It was dark and Naruto was heading home when he walked around the corner and bumped into someone. **bang** _ooFFF_

"Ouch! I'm sorry." said a familiar voice.

"Who is it?" asked Naruto, trying to see through the darkness. The stranger looked up and Naruto gasped in surprise.

"Saukra?!?"

"Huh? Naruto? What are you doing here?" she exclaimed. Without waiting for an answer she flung her arms around Naruto. He hugged her back, relieved to see her unharmed.

"Sakura..I thought I heard you scream in the caves...was that you? Are you ok? What happened?" asked Naruto asked, bombarding Sakura with questions.

Not wanting to tell Naruto the whole story, Sakura shrugged dimissively. "Ohh, nothing much. We just ran into some unexpected trouble, but everything is alright now."

"What about Sasuke?" wondered Naruto. Little did he now about the last three days, so he was surprised when Sakura froze. Naruto, interperting a different meaning to Sakura's silence asked, "What happened to him? Is he injured?"

Sakura forced a smile on her face. "Sasuke? No, he's fine." Giving Naruto another falsely cheerful smile she said, "Ahh, well I'll see you around Naruto-kun." She walked away. Naruto sratched his head. Sakura seems...strange, he thought to himself.

He shrugged. Oh well, I'll better get home, get some sleep and wake up early tomorrow to train! With that Naruto headed home.

Sakura stumbled into a deserted alley. She had to get her heart under control. Whenever someone mentioned Sasuke, her chest would fill with pain and she would feel lightheaded. Sakura bit her lip. It would be so much better if someone just ripped my heart out, she thought, bitterly.

She could not stop thinking of Sasuke, but whenever she did heart heart seemed to swell up, and she found it hard to breathe.

Each time it happened, Evil Sakura and Inner Sakura appeared. Each time it happened, Evil Sakura would convince her that she truely loved Itachi and Sasuke was a nobody. But it made her wonder, Where _was_ Itachi? He did say he would come and find her but there was no sign of him anywhere. Had he deserted her?

She had walked around the village all day, but there was no trace of Itachi. Her heart sinking,she walked home. When she got home, her parent were out. Sakura walked straight into her room and closed the door. She fumbled for the light switch. With a click she turned the light on.

Leaning against her window sill was a dark figure, dressed in black. Slowly he looked up at her. Sakura squelled in delight.

"Itachi- sama!"

He spoke, voice calm and soothing. "I told you not to call me Itachi-sama." He strode across the room, towards Sakura. Embracing her tight, he whispered into her ear, " I've missed you."

Sakura felt her legs turn to jelly. Now she knew that her heart truely loved Itachi. It only hurt when she thought of Sasuke because she loathed him. "I missed you too." she whispered back. Itachi cupped her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes. Without thinking Sakura stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. He returned the kiss. Itachi ran his fingers through Sakura flowing pink hair.

Itachi gently broke the kiss. Still touching Sakura's hair he asked her voice low, "Do you love me, Sakura?" Sakura's eyes widened at the question. She blushed and hid her face. Itachi put his hands under her chin and lifted her face up. "Well do you?"

"Ye- yes. I love you Itachi." stuttered Sakura. "I belong to you."

Itachi raised his eyes in amusement. "Are you saying that you intend to give me your heart and soul?"

Sakura nodded.

"Even your body..?" Itachi went on. Sakura got goosebumps as she realised where their conversation was going.

She nodded.

"Very well, then." Itachi pushed Sakura onto her bed. "Lets see how true your words are..." Sakura gasped in shock, but before she could object, Itachi sat on the bed and covered her mouth with his hand. "You said you'll give me your body didn't you? You aren't going to break your promise straight away are you?"

After a moments hesitation, Sakura shook her head. Itachi moved his hand away from her mouth. Leaning over, he replaced his hand with his lips. Slowly he climbed on top of her body. Still kissing her, dragged his hand from her face, down her her neck then down further till they reached her breast. Sakura cringed but Itachi seemed not to notice.

Itachi then placed his hands on Sakura's thighs. With one quick movement he slashed her bandages and pulled them off. Using his other hand he started unbottoning the top half of her dress.

Suddenly he stopped. There was a knock on the door. In a blink of an eye he disappeared.

"Sakura?" a voice called from outside.

**- Ermmm... heh. I wasn't sure if that was R rated or not . So what did you think of that? You guys did tell me to put more Itachi/Sakura scenes...was that too much or too little?...hehehe till nxt time P -**


	9. Chapter 9

**- Aiyah!!!! I'm SO sorry for the enormous delay! I really am. I haven't given up on this story, I've just been really busy taking my Japanese exchange student around the place and yeahh...so basically the main reason is that i haven't found time. Sorry, once again. OmG...we (my Japanese buddies and I) had so much fun, we went shopping at...ok, ok you probably want to read the story rather than hear me go on... EnjoY! -**

**------ Chapter 9 -------**

"Sakura? Are you in there?" the voice called again. Sakura bolted up from her bed.

"Uhhh...yeah mum, I'm in here." she cried while leaping out of bed. "I'm opening the door. Hang on!" Sakura grimaced as she passed her bedroom mirror. Her hair was messy and her skirt was crumpled. Hastily she brushed stray hair out of her face and smoothed down her clothes. She opened the door.

Sakura's mother inspected Sakura with one long glance. "What have you been doing?" she asked with distain.

Sakura sighed inwardly. Her mother always expected her to look her best. "Nothing Mother, I'm fine." she replied indignantly, "If you've forgotten, I'm just back from the first test."

"Sakura, Sakura." Her mother said, shaking her head. "Of course I remembered! But I would've thought you would clean yourself up a bit."

"Ohhh...well I was feeling tired so I couldn't be bothered." Lied Sakura, quickly. Sakura's mother gave her a pitiful glance.

She couldn't see why her daughter had wanted to become a ninja when there were so many other professions that didn't envolve risking your life everyday.

"I made you some dinner, if you're hungry...?" she offered. Sakura only gave her a hug and said, "No I'm fine, I just need some rest that's all." With a cheerful smile Sakura gently closed her bedroom door behind her.

On the other side her mother stared sadly at the door. Sakura's growing up, she thought to herself. She no longer tells me of her problems like she use to.

**(flashback)**

"Mummy!" sniff

"Honey? What's wrong?"

"Wahhhhahahaa!"

"Was it something at school? Tell mummy what happened. "

"I don't wanna go to school ever again!"

"Why not?"

"Because the other kids tease me!" sniff

"Now there, Sakura. Why would they do that?"

"They say I have a big forehead!" hiccup sniff

"There, there. No need to cry. You'll always be my special girl..."

**(Another flashback)**

"Mum! Mum! Guess what?"

"What darling?"

"I meet a really nice girl today! She's the first person that hasn't made fun of my forehead."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah and she gave me this ribbon! See?"

"It's lovely. What's her name?"

"Yamanaka Ino!"

"Well why don't you go outside to play with her then?"

"Ok!"

**(end of flashback)**

Sakura's mother sighed. As the years passed Sakura became more and more closed about her life. She was hardly ever home and when she was she rarely spoke and stayed inside her room. Sakura's mother blinked away her sudden tears and walked towards the kitchen.

Sakura leaned on her closed door as she replayed what had just happened between her and Itachi. Slowly she walked towards her open window and looked out. All she saw was the darkness of the night and nothing else. A bit disappointed she slowly shut the windows.

She changed into her nightgown and brushed out her shoulder length hair. As last she got into bed. Just as she reached out to turn off her bedside light, she knocked something down. She propped herself on one elbow and found what she had knocked over.

It was a picture of her, Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi sensei, a day after they had passed Kakashi's "get-the-bell-test." Her eyes lingered over the faces and stopped on Sasuke's. Her mind instantly formed pictures, showing her the previous three days.

Sakura's chest tightened. Her eyes began to fill with tears. No! She thought furiously to herself. I WON'T cry anymore. Not over him!

But she couldn't control it. Tears began streaming down her face. With one hand she flipped the frame over so she couldn't see the photo. Burying her face in her pillow, Sakura cried herself to sleep.

Itachi ran over rooftops. With every step he took he cursed.

"Damn it! I was so close!"

"What happened master?" asked a slimly voice to Itachi's left.

"None of your business, Zukono." Snapped Itachi.

_(For those people who don't remember who Zukono is, he is a character I made up. He's the blob monster that team one encounters in the tunnels.)_

"If we are to work on this together, then you have to tell me what's going on!"

Itachi's eyes flashed in annoyance. Zukono noticed and fell silent.

"Ok, I'll tell you what's going on. I need the girl to help me get Sasuke, as soon as possible. I just need to convince her to that's all. I would've succeeded tonight if it weren't for some meddling people."

"But Master- we're running out of time! If you don't get Sasuke's body soon-"

"Shut up!" growled Itachi menacingly, turning his blood red eyes on Zukono. "I don't need you to tell me what I already know! Now fck off. I need to think."

Without a sound, Zukono disappeared into the shadows of the night. Itachi fumed in annoyance.

That stupid piece of...! I wouldn't have brought him along if he hadn't his uses. Oh well, he thought, once I get Sasuke, I can get rid of him once and for all, but for now I need him. Zukono is the only thing that can stop Orochimaru from getting his hands on the Uchiha secrets.

**(flashback)**

"Itachi, as an order from the Akatsuki, I want you to get rid of Sasuke."

"You mean my childish little brother? How can a weak being like him threaten us?"

"It is not him as the enemy. It's a former Akatsuki member."

"Orochimaru."

"Yes and he wants to take the Sharingan for himself."

"What did you say?"

"Orochimaru gave Sasuke a curse seal. We have received sources that Orochimaru will soon take over Sasuke's whole body and learn the secrets of the Uchiha clan. Then he will come and destroy the Akatsuki."

Itachi stiffened

"So, you want me to get rid of Sasuke, like a nin-hunter, yes?"

"That's correct."

"Why don't you have a trained person go?"

"Oh, you will have someone to accompany you of course. Let me introduce him to you."

"Ohhhh...?"

"He isn't exactly human but his body can digest anything. He will be useful in destroying any evidence of the Uchiha clan."

**(end of flashback)**

**- heheehe. that chapter was a bit boring, but the nxt will be betteR, I promise! And I'll update chapter 10 in like... four or five days time. maybe even sooner. n.n -**


	10. Chapter 10

**-Merry Christmas everyone!! (for whenever Christmas is in your timezone ) Hehe it's midnight and the start of Christmas day right now. I'm still up waiting for Santa. lol -**

**- ok guys. sorry again about the boring last chapter, but i needed it to explain things or my stories won't have a plot. P well I hope this chapter isn't as bad. -**

**- plz people, reviewing only takes a half a minute of your life... -**

**----- Chapter 10 -----**

Hinata's soft footsteps padded down the road, towards the Hyuuga home. She had something on her mind. Usually her mind was on Naruto but today something else had distracted her. Someone else to be exact.

She walked pasted a bush a daisy. Without thinking she automatically plucked a flower. "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not..." She muttered under her breath while delicately picking off its petals and letting them fly away behind her.

"he loves me...?"

Hinata shook her head, with a smile. It was foolhardly to trust a flower yet...yet why did she feel like she really want to believe it? Hinata paused. She had always loved Naruto, ever since she had started at the academy but now she had the same feelings for someone else. Hinata never use to notice anyone except Naruto, but these three days had made her more aware of him. Especially the past three days since they were stuck in a tunnel together.

A sudden thought struck Hinata. What if he's never noticed me? She frowned. Naruto never noticed me but maybe that's because I never told him of my feeling. Hinata decided not to make that same mistake again.

She started walking again, but this time she headed for his house. She was going to tell him that she had feelings for him.

Slowly she approached his house. With each step she took her confidence dropped little by little. When she got to his front door, her hands we're shaking. When she was about to raise her hand to knock on his door, when her confidence faltered and died. Hinata dropped her limp arm back down to her side.

Slowly she sat down on the porch, head propped on her hands. I'm such a coward! she thought furiously. Sometimes I wish I was a bit like Sakura or Ino. They told Sasuke they liked him without hesitating.

As she fumed silently she spotted a bush of daisy out the front.

Hinata stood up and walked over to the bush. Snapping a flower of it's stem she started pulling off the petals, while muttering- "He loves me, he loves me not..."

Again, she ended up with, "he loves me."

Hinata made up her mind. She walked up to the door, then hesitated. Clenching her fist her rapped hard on the door. Wiping her sweaty hands on her jacket, she waited. A moment later the door opened and Hinata stared into a pair of sunglasses.

"Hi- hi, Shino."

* * *

As all that was unfolding, Shikamaru was on his way home. His hands were in his pokets and he kicked the dirt with every step that he took. I was so close, mused Shikamaru, I had my arm around her and all. It was my perfect chance but I told her I was just helping her up! I should've told her then! Damn it!

Shikamaru's head worked through hundreds of different idea, but he kept on landing on the same plan. Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "Ok, ok, I'll tell her!" And with that he turned his heel and walked towards the Hyuuga residence.

* * *

"Oh Hi Hinata. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home resting?"

"Ohh...ummm...well...." stuttered Hinata, who was growing redder by the second.

Shino looked concerned. He put his hands on Hinata's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "What's wrong Hinata? Did something happen?"

Hinata fliched and stepped back from Shino's grip. "I..uhh..I have some to tell you."

Shino was confused now. It almost seemed like she was going to confess her love for him. It was strange, but he kept silent and politely listened.

Noticing Shino's stilled silence, Hinata took a deep breath and went on.

"I always thought I loved Naruto but during these few days I've realized that...that I like...you." When Shino look even more confused Hinata realized what she had just said only came out as a whisper. Hinata's cheeks turned crimson. Clasping her shaking hands behind her back, she squeaked, "Shino, I think I like you."

Shino's eyes widened in surprise. Without warning he cried, "What?!?" Hinata's whole face had turned red and was slowly edging away from Shino. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you then." she spluttered.

Shino's usually expressionless face was gradually growing pinker by the second. "I'm sorry, Hinata but well..." Shino trailed off.

Now it was Hinata's turned to be curious. Forgettening about being embarassed she asked, "What is it?"

Shino tried to speak but his voice broke. Finally he said, "I'll tell you but you promise not to ever talk of it again?" Hinata nodded, now more curious than ever. Shino bit his lip then said very quickly, "I'm sorry Hinata, I'm gay."

Hinata stumbled back. "You are...? I mean- ok ok I won't tell." Shino nodded, unable to say anything. Hinata noticed the akward silence and decided to leave.

"I'll go then." she said, voice slightly quavering. Shino nodded again and walked back into his house, without a word. Only when he had shut the door did Hinata turned her back and walked away. When she rounded the corner, she began running hard, trying to get what had just happened, out of her head.

* * *

Shikamaru stood in front of the door. Every few seconds he would raise his hand to wipe the sweat out of his brows. After five minutes he gave. "I'm the coward of Konoha, " He muttered to himself. "And this is really troublesome." And with that he walked off. He jammed his hands into his pockets. He was deep in thought of what to do next that he didn't notice some running straight for him.

Hinata had her head bowed, running as fast as she could. She just wanted to go home and think of nothing else. She didn't care about anything anymore. Without warning she ran straight into Shikamaru.

"Oww....sorry...Hinata...?"

"Huh?" Hinata looked up surprised. "Ohh I'm sorry Shikamaru, I wasn't looking where I was going."

Shikamaru waved the apoplogy away. Now he gave Hinata a curious glance.

"What are you looking at?" asked Hinata. Shikamaru lifted his hands and touched Hinata's tear-stained cheeks. Hinata then realized that was crying. Furious at herself she began waiping the tears away. As soon as she did fresh tears leaked out.

"I'm so useless!" she cried. "Useless. Useless. Useless!" Then all of a sudden she flung herself into Shikamaru's arms. Shikamaru blushed, having never been so close to Hinata before.

I'll be even more closer to her by the days out, he mused silently. Then he shook his head in disbelief. I can't believe you're having dirty thoughts right noe, he scolded himself. You're suppose to be cheering her up!

Shikamaru lead her to a park and sat her down. Still with his arms around her, he asked softly, "Tell me what happened, Hinata-chan. I'll help you out."

Hinata hiccuped. After a moments hesitation she said, "I told Shino that I liked him."

Realizing his mouth was open in shock, he closed them quickly. Hinata went on, "He said that he was...I mean he wasn't interested." As she said this more tears streamed down. She buried her face in Shikamaru's chest. Instintivly he held her tight while think, Shino rejected Hinata?? What foolishness was that?

Shikamaru could hear Hinata muffled voice. "What should I do Shikamaru-kun?"

He dearly wanted to say, "Stuff that bastard and come with me," but he knew he couldn't. Hinata was hurt and confused.

"I think you should forget about him and move on." Hinata stopped crying. "He didn't deserve you." Shikamaru went on. Hinata looked up into Shikamaru's eyes. For the first time Hinata noticed how caring his eyes were, even though most of the time Shikamaru acts like he doesn't care. Hinata smiled up at him.

"You're right." she annouced, "He was the one for me anyway. Thank you Shikamaru!"

"Uhh, no problem." said Shikamaru, a little embarassed. He was surprised at her sudden mood change. Hinata stood up so Shikamaru stood up with her.

"If you ever have any problems, come find me. I'll help you out!" smiled Hinata. Shikamaru nodded. Before he knew what had happened, Hinata stepped on tip toes and kissed Shikamaru on the cheek. With that she ran off.

Shikamaru was stunned. Putting his hands on the cheek where she kissed him, he walked home, stunned.

**- hehehe that whole chapter was dedicated to Hinata/Shikamaru. Hope you liked it. More things unfold later on. -**


	11. Chapter 11

**- So sorry for the huge wait...I was on holidays...P...so you want a shikamaru/hinata chapter ehh? Wish granted! -**

**-Chapter 11- **

Hinata gazed out of her bedroom window, her bright eyes searching the sky. She was looking for the first star of the night. She wanted to make a wish. She _needed_ to make a wish.

At the same time Shikamaru was out in his backyard, head tilted towards the darkening sky. He shivered in the cold. He hated the cold but he had something very important to do. Suddenly a voice from inside his house made him jump.

"Shikamaru!" Come help me with the dinner!"

That scary voice had haunted Shikamaru when he was younger. That scary Mother of his nearly put him off women. But that was until he met Hinata. Remembering what he was outside in the cold for he shouted back,

"Just a second, Mother!" And with that he lifted his head up, eyes gazing for the first star.

Hinata and Shikamaru were both very lucky. Not only did they see the first star, but it was a shooting star as well. As soon as they caught sight of the star they both squeezed their eyes tightly shut, bowed their heads and made their wish.

**--next morning--**

Hinata stirred. Sunlight streamed into her room, landing softly on her face. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. She was going to find out her second task today, so she quickly put on her clothes and walked sleepily into her bathroom. She stared into the mirror and spaced out for a few seconds, thinking about what had happened yesterday.

So much had happened. Just escaping with their lives, Shino being gay and Shikamaru... her thoughts landed on Shikamaru. He was so manly now, she giggled to herself remembering him as a little boy in the academy that was always sleeping during classes.

Hinata shook her head in disbelief. Looking at the clock she scolded herself. You're going to be late Hinata!! Get a grip on yourself! She stared into the mirror, stared into her face. Despite efforts, her thoughts kept on drifting back to the same topic.

He would never like me, she thought bitterly. I'm so ugly! Her depression sunk in again. Hinata dragged a comb through her messy locks. Brushing her teeth and washing her face took Hinata a long time, because whenever she looked into the mirror, she stopped and cursed herself. 'Why am I ugly? Why can't a look a bit like Ino, or Sakura? Why? Why? WHY?'

Finally ready, she headed downstairs. Her little sister Hanabi was already at the table, spooning out porridge. Standing in the doorway Hinata tilted her head to the side and asked, "Well what's this?"

Hanabi looked up and her face lit up. "Hinata!" I made a special breakfast for you because you past the first test!" She smiled cheerfully. Hinata ruffled Hanabi's hair.

"Well does that mean I get three special breakfast if I past the Chunnin exams?"

Hanabi laughed. "Maybe..."

Hinata looked at the two bowls set out. "Where's Father, Hanabi?" she asked.

"Ohh he went out, he told me to say that he's heard that you made it out alive." replied Hanabi lightly, who was back to setting out the table.

Hinata's face fell slightly, but managed a smile. "That's good then. Well let's have breakfast." She sat down in front of one of the bowls and started eating. Hanabi gazed expectantly at her old sister. "Well how is it?"

"It's lovely Hanabi, thank you."

They ate the meal in silence. Hinata's depression ripped at her even more now. She wanted her Father the say more than, "I heard she made it out alive."

She had tried so hard to change herself just to please her Father. She had gotten stronger, bit by bit. But never had he given her a compliment. As far as she could remember, he had never smiled at her before.

Hinata felt like an outsider. She had always felt that the world had turned its back on her. Ignoring her. Not caring for her. She tried to block out the pain but no matter where she turned it found her again. Ripping her insides out. Little by little.

She didn't even notice Hanabi speaking to her. "Hinata?" Hanabi called, shaking her gently, "I thought you needed to meet up to find out the second test."

Hinata jerked and stood up, nearly toppling the table over. "Ohh, yeah! Thanks again for the breakfast Hanabi! It was delicious!" yelled Hinata was she raced out the door.

**-- Ramen Bar --**

Naruto slurped his miso ramen, oblivious to everything around him. He didn't even notice when Shino sat down next to him. Shino gazed at Naruto strangely, but he didn't seem to notice.

"What would you like then, young man?" asked the owner of the ramen bar. Shino hesitated then replied, "Miso, please."

Naruto finally looked up from his bowl. "Ahh hey there Shino! Whatcha doing here?" he said loudly.

Shino turned a deep shade of pink and muttered, "I uhh- wanted to try some of the ramen. I wanted to see if it is as good as you say it is. Tha- that's all."

Naruto nodded. "Well then how about make it my treat?" he grinned. Shino shook his head.

"Oh no, I couldn't let you pay for my food..."

"But I insist! Old man! Put his bill on my tab please!" demanded Naruto, thumb pointed to Shino.

"Sure thing Naruto!" replied the man. Then he turned to Shino and smiled. "He doesn't usually pay for other people you know. Are you one of his little friends then?"

Shino was startled at his question and started stuttering, "Uhh...well...ermm..."

"Well of course he is! We're good mates!" Naruto butted in. Casually he swung his arm over Shino. Now Shino had turned red, and felt heat radiating off his face.

Luckily his sunglasses and high coat hid his face from view. Naruto had already turned back to his ramen. The old man, placed a steaming bowl in front of Shino.

"Here you go." Shino nodded thanks and picked up his chopsticks. Naruto was eating his second bowl of ramen, when Shino finished eating. He just sat there and watched Naruto eat. At last he slurped up the soup and asked for his bill.

When he paid Naruto turned to Shino. "Well then...shall we go meet up with the others?"

Shino could see a droplet of soup on Naruto's cheek, which he didn't seem to notice. He had to restrain himself, from reaching across and wiping it off. He knew that if he did, his feelings would be let loose and he would have told Naruto.

Then Naruto, (who was a bit of a bigmouth) would shout out in surprise and then the whole of Konoha would know he was gay. Shino couldn't risk that. He had told Hinata but Shino, who had worked with Hinata over the years, knew she wasn't the sort of person to tell a secret.

"Uhhh Naruto," he said instead, "you've got something on your cheek..." Naruto wiped his face with the back of his hands and asked "Is it gone?"

"Uhh ye- yeah..." stuttered Shino.

Naruto grinned. "Well then, let's go!"

When Hinata got to the Hokage's office, she looked around. This was the first time she had been inside Tsunade's office and she was quite surprised. The well renowned female ninja had the place in shambles.

There were opened scrolls scattered across her desk. The ink and brush were drying out and some of it had spilt. Books of all sizes were either opened up or stacked up untidily on the ground. Hinata even spotted some empty sake bottles behind some pot plants, that Tsunade had hidden in haste.

After inspecting her surroundings, Hinata looked around and spotted several people. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, eyes flickering towards the hidden sake bottles, once awhile. Hinata's sensei, Kurenai was chatting with Asuma, who was the teacher of cell 10. Of course, Kakashi wasn't there yet, and Hinata expected to wait at least a couple more hours before he arrived.

Sasuke had also arrived, and of course Ino and Sakura were standing on either side. Sakura kept frowning and looked distracted, then smiling sweetly at Sasuke again. Kiba has trouble controlling Akamaru, as he was bouncy around the room, sniffing everything.

Then she saw Shikamaru crouched in the corner next to the door.

'His mind seems very far off... I wonder why', pondered Hinata, as Shikamaru was determinedly staring at the ceiling. Hinata desperately wanted to walk over and start talking to him but she knew she didn't have the courage.

Shikamaru wasn't staring at the ceiling anymore, Hinata followed his gaze.

Then she bit on her lip hard, to swallow her disappointment. Shikamaru was looking at Ino and frowning.

'He's probably wondering why Ino likes Sasuke', thought Hinata bitterly. 'I knew he would never notice me.'

(Shikamaru's P.O.V)

I had noticed Hinata's presence even before she had entered the room. I watched her carefully as she entered and looked around. I was concealed in a corner with stacks of books, so she couldn't see me unless she turned around. When Hinata finished looking around the hokage's extremely dirty office, she began to turn around. I tore my gaze from her and stared at the ceiling. I could feel her looking at me and so I deliberately avoided her gaze. I wondered what it was like to be Sasuke, having so many girls chasing after him.

It would be quite troublesome, especially with HER on his tail, I thought looking at Ino. I could tell that Hinata wasn't looking at me anymore, so I took a chance to peek at her again.

I was surprised to see that her expression had changed from a moment ago. Before she looked a bit nervous and distracted at something, but now...

'Why did she look as though she wanted to cry?' I wondered in utter confusion. 'What happened?'

* * *

Just when Hinata decided to turn away from the doorway, Naruto and Shino appeared. Naruto walked towards Tsunade and began talking to her. Shino blushed when he saw Hinata. He gave her a questioning look. Hinata gave him a small smile and shook her head. She hadn't told anyone of Shino's secret.

Now it was Shikamaru's turn to hide his disappointment. He had seen everything. He now knew why Hinata looked so disappointed before. It was because of Shino. Hinata was looking for Shino and when she saw he wasn't here she looked sad. When he came in, she immediately starts smiling at him, thought Shikamaru angrily, watching Hinata and Shino looking at each other.

Shino walked over to Kiba and Akamaru and started talking. Shikamaru knew it was troublesome but he knew he had to tell her. He had to tell her that he loved her and wanted to be with her or his life wasn't worth living. Plucking up his courage he walked up to her. Hinata had his back turned to him and was talking to Naruto.

Naruto was flirting with Hinata really obviously and that made Shikamaru a little jealous. "Uhhh...Hinata?" he said softly. Naruto gave Shikamaru a death stare.

'What the heck did he think he was doing? Getting in my way...' Naruto's thoughts trailed off.

Hinata stepped back in surprise to see Shikamaru standing so close to her.

"Ye- yes...Shikamaru-kun?"

- hehe...that was a long chapter to make up for the delay. lol well please review, and give me more idea's on my story if you can. I really, really appreciate it. . thanX -


	12. Chapter 12

**Hehe, I guess I haven't updated in a really really long time aye? Ops. . # I'm so sorry... I just thought that no one was reading my ficcie so I ditched it. Then I went into my email inbox and saw a STACK of reviews. Thank you so much to the people who reviewed, it means so much. Here is the next chapter. Enjoy. **

**Chapter 12.**

Shikamaru could feel the heat rising in his face. He looked down at the floor so that Hinata wouldn't see him blush.

"Uh- remember last time you said you would help me? I- I kind of have a problem and I was wonder if you could ermm... help me out?" stuttered Shikamaru. As soon as he said that he mentally kicked himself. She probably thinks I like someone else now, he thought angrily to himself.

Hinata looked at Shikamaru sadly. She knew he would never be interested in her. She had her hopes up for nothing. He probably wanted to talk about Ino and she had to listen and help because she _did_ make that promise.

She nodded her head. She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the appearance of Kakashi.

He appeared with a bang behind a pot plant which Tsunade had secretly hid the bottles of sake. His legs kicked the bottles out from its hiding place and the sweet smell of sake wafted in the air. Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly and turned a tinge of pink. But his face was nothing compared to Tsunade's.

Her face was a bright shade of pink and she looked guiltily at the sake bottles. But when she saw the split wine on the floor, her expression changed and she glared at Kakashi.

Her face plainly said- 'I'm going to kill you.'

Kakashi backed away from Tsunade's evil look and hide behind Kurenai and Asuma. Tsunade advanced slowly, hands out like a corpse, reaching out for Kakashi. The students looked at the unfolding scene in amusement.

Kurenai and Asuma stood in between not knowing what to do. They couldn't decide whom to support so they just stepped out of harms way. Kakashi was now backed up against the way, a mere image of a mouse cornered by a cat. He waved his hands above his head in self-defence and yelled-

"I'll buy you a drink afterwards!"

Tsunade's grin only widened. Now she looked like an evil Cheshire cat. Still she advanced slowly.

"Fine! I'll buy you a drink for a week! Just let me go!" Kakashi pleaded.

Tsunade planted her hands on her hips, a wide triumphant grin on her lips.

"You better keep your word, Kakashi –_kun_." Teased Tsunade.

Just glad that he had escaped death, Kakashi let out a sigh of relief. Naruto looked from Kakashi to Tsunade, in opaque amusement. Then he ran up to Tsunade and clapped her on the back.

"Granny Tsunade- you go girl!" he cheered. "I can't believe you made a cheap-skate like Kakashi sensei buy you drinks!"

Kakashi looked up at Naruto and gave him a 'screw-you' look. Naruto stuck his tongue out at Kakashi. Tsunade brushed Naruto off and cleared her throat.

The incident disappeared from everyone's minds as they focused on what Tsunade was going to say next.

"First of all I would like to congratulate you all for completing the first task." She said, looking at the students one by one. "Now I'll like to tell you about the next task."

She walked to her desk and sat down. Then she inspected every face in the room before continuing-

"The next task is to happen tomorrow morning. 6:00 am. Be ready. We will meet at Konoha gate."

When no one made a sound nor did they move, Tsunade looked at them. "Now go! Shoo!" she ushered.

"But you haven't told us what the task is yet!" objected Sakura.

"You find that out tomorrow." Smiled Tsunade, amusement dancing in her eyes. Sakura looked at the other senseis but they too just smiled.

Slowly, everyone filed out of the room. Hinata tried to avoid Shikamaru and walked out as fast as she could. She couldn't bear to talk about Ino. Not yet.

Not when her heart was still secretly aching for Shikamaru. Hinata was afraid that if Shikamaru started talking about his love for Ino, she would come out and confess everything. Shikamaru would then laugh at her stupidity.

Hinata walked away, as fast as she could. She had no idea where she was going but she let her feet guide the way. When she looked up, she saw that she at the training grounds.

Hinata would always come to the training grounds and let out her anger and frustration. Whenever her father commented on her weakness she would come her to train. She would punch the wooden posts as hard as she could until her knuckles tore and bled. Then she would sink to the floor and cry.

Hinata hated herself. She would stay at the training grounds from morning to night, unable to face her family because she was too weak.

Hinata now looked at the posts. Without another thought, she raised a clenched fist and slammed it against the wood.

The post splintered and Hinata winced as small shards of wood dug underneath her skin. Yet the pain was nothing compared to the hurt in her chest.

Hinata ignored the pain and continued punching the stake.

At last, out of breath, Hinata sunk down to the ground and wept bitterly. She noticed that splinters of wood were stuck in her hand. Her flesh was a raw red and scratched in many places.

What she didn't notice was that someone was watching her with sad eyes.

--


	13. Chapter 13

**It's been ages i know! sorry! my computer crashed and all my files got trashed! i wrote this in like half an hour so i'm really sorry about all the mistakes ive made. **

please Review!

* * *

"Ohhhh Sakura-chan!" called Naruto. Sakura's ears pricked up at the voice. She started walking a little faster, pretending not to hear Naruto.

"Oi, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called again, louder this time. Sakura walked faster then- smack!

With a poof of smoke Naruto appeared in front of her. "Sakura-chan! Why are you ignoring me?" he asked, hurt showing in his voice. "I have a letter for you!"

Sakura glanced at the letter in his hand. 'It must be from Itachi!' she thought excitedly. Her face instantly lighting up with a smile she grinned at Naruto and said, "Sorry Naruto! I didn't hear you!" When Naruto looked at her with one eyebrow raised, Sakura plucked the letter out of his hand. "Thanks Naruto!"

Trying to control the excitement, she slowly ripped the envelope open. At the end of the letter, it was signed – "Itachi." Noticing that a few people were trying to read her letter, Sakura hastily stuffed the paper back into the envelope and then she excused herself.

"Ahh… I think I'll start training now! Bye!" she called. Without waiting for answer from her friends, she ran off.

Sakura didn't notice that Sasuke had been watching her all day. 'There's something wrong with Sakura' he thought to himself. 'And the letter looked pretty suspicious.' Turning to Naruto he grabbed him by the jacket.

"Who gave you the letter?" he demanded not realizing that Naruto's feet were slightly lifting off the ground. Naruto struggled out of Sauske's grip.

"Why should I tell you?" he pouted, not liking the sudden attack.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He really could not be bothered explaining to a dim-wit like Naruto.

"Maybe it has anthrax in it or something." He said sarcastically, "and when Sakura breathes that stuff in, she's gonna die…"

Naruto looked at Sasuke with disbelieving eyes. "Are. You. Serious?" he breathed.

Sasuke didn't bother replying.

"But-but-" stammered Naruto, "It was just an old women who wanted Sakura to baby sit a cat for her or something."

Sasuke retrained himself from rolling his eyes. Anyone could have transformed into an innocent old lady. Naruto kept on talking.

"I peeked over her shoulders when she opened the letter. It was signed something like- Inata or Ichigo or something like that…"

A name flashed up before Sasuke's eyes.

_Itachi._

"NARUTO! WHICH WAY DID SAKURA GO?"

* * *

After memorizing the letter, Sakura scrunched up the letter and set it alight. Making sure that every bit of the letter had turned into ash, she turned around to go.

Suddenly she stopped and sharpened her senses. Someone was coming. Then she forced herself to smile.

"Sasuke! What a pleasant surprise! Are you going to train with me today?" she asked, making her voice high and flirty.

Sasuke ignored her question. "Show me the letter!" he demanded, madness showing in his eyes.

"What letter?" asked Sakura innocently, opening her eyes wide with confusion.

"The letter that Naruto gave you!"

"Oh _that _one!" exclaimed Sakura, as if she just caught on to what Sasuke was saying, "That was just a letter from Grannie Inoru asking me if I could look after her house while she goes away."

Sasuke noticed a smell of burning. He spotted the ashes at once. "Why did you burn it?" he questioned, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Sakura faltered for a second.

"I- uhh- I –" she stammered. "I was practising a jutsu when it suddenly caught alight. It was an accident. Silly me huh?" she giggled.

"Right." Sasuke said, even though he didn't believe her. In a poof he disappeared.

Instantly Sakura dropped her smile. Walking over to the pile of embers, she stepped on it to crush the paper into powdery residue.

'Itachi-sama,' she thought, 'I'll do my best.'


End file.
